Threads Unveils Notable Updates: Edit Button and, Voice Messaging

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg disclosed today the incorporation of an edit button in Threads, Instagram's Twitter-inspired app. This fresh addition empowers users to revise their posts as frequently as desired within a span of five minutes following the initial posting. In the past, the only way to rectify typos was to erase and repost the content.

Setting it apart from X (previously called Twitter), which incorporated an edit feature only last year and subsequently made it an exclusive add-on of a paid subscription, Threads is launching the edit option free of cost. Accessible via mobile or web, the feature arrives nearly three months after the social platform's initial launch.

Threads, however, omit the functionality of displaying a post's edit history, a feature X provides to promote transparency and discourage the spread of false information. Consequently, Threads users are able to post content, amass likes and reposts, and then modify their original posts with no evidence of the initial content remaining. This absence of accountability allows for potential misuse of the edit feature.

Zuckerberg also revealed the upcoming launch of "Voice Threads" on the platform. As the name suggests, this feature enables users to share voice-based posts on the network. This comes as a favorable update for those favoring voice interactions over text-based ones. The process of publishing a voice post includes initiating a new thread or reply, tapping the microphone icon, and commencing recording. An automated transcription of the audio clip will be produced for optional editing.

The announcement coincides with murmurs of Threads prepping for the debut of a Trends feature, further intensifying its rivalry with X. The update was inadvertently revealed via a screenshot, posted mistakenly by a Threads employee, and noticed by an alert user. The screenshot displayed a ranking of trending topics along with statistics of the active "threads" associated with each topic.