Meta is testing 'Threads Friends' for sharing posts with smaller groups

Screenshot (Threads)

Threads is experimenting with a way to more privately share posts with smaller groups of followers. The app said it's testing "Threads Friends" in Ireland, Italy and Japan.The feature is basically like a "close friends" list for Threads. It allows people to opt to share posts with up to 50 friends (or "Thriends" as the app also calls it) without making it visible to anyone else on the platform.

If that sounds familiar, it's also remarkably similar to a feature Twitter introduced back in 2022 called "Circles." Twitter's version of the feature allowed users to limit posts to groups of up to 150. The company killed Circles about a year later.

It seems that Meta is helping users create their initial friends list. The app will automatically suggest followers that you frequently engage with, a Meta spokesperson shared, though the list is customizable. Once a friend list is set up, users are then able to tap a green bubble at the top of their feed to see "Friends' posts that have been shared in the last 24 hours. 

The company hasn't shared detailed images of the feature yet, but Laura Javier, product design director for Threads, did show a little preview of what a friends-only post will look like. She also showed off an Easter egg that will change "Threads Friends" to simply "Thriends."

It's not clear if or when Meta plans to expand the initial test, so most users in the US won't have access to it for now. However, if you know someone in one of the test countries, you will be able to see their friends-only posts if they add you to their list.