Meta is starting to test a TweetDeck-like experience for Threads today. This will allow Threads users to create customizable feeds across the web, stacked in a columnar interface – just like TweetDeck did before it became a paid service and was rebranded to X Pro last year.
“If you’re experimenting, you can choose to keep things simple with one ribbon or add separate columns for your favorite searches, tags, accounts, saved posts, and notifications,” said Meta spokesperson Seine Kim. The Verge. “You can choose to automatically update specific columns in real time.”
Meta will select Threads users to try this new experience on the web version of Threads, and the screenshot shows that it looks a lot like TweetDeck. You can choose to have the column automatically updated with the latest posts and columns filled with search results or posts from a single user profile.
This new interface is likely a response to a common complaint from Threads power users about being forced into an algorithmically powered For You feed every time you visit Threads on the web. Topics have a real-time Tracking feed, but you have to tick it the following URL or link when you download Threads on the Internet. The same thing happens in mobile apps, as Meta has hidden the Bottom ribbon below the Main Threads logo.
TweetDeck was a popular third-party app for accessing Twitter before the company acquired it in 2011. Features like multiple account support and customizable feeds have made it a popular tool for power users, journalists, and marketers who use Twitter daily. If you want access to the rebranded X Pro, you now have to pay for an X Premium account ($8 per month).
Along with this new TweetDeck-like UI in Threads, Meta is also launching a chronological recent tab for searches on the service. “Search results here are still rated for quality, but you can now see them in chronological order,” Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri says.