Understanding Instagram’s Pending Chat Closure

Instagram has started showing Threads users a notice redirecting them back to Instagram to continue messaging their friends. By December 2021, Threads will disappear completely as Meta—Facebook and Instagram’s parent company—finally shuts it down.

Why is Threads on its way out? Let’s find out…

How Threads Is Different From Instagram

Instagram launched the standalone Threads app in 2019 to enable its users to send and receive videos, photos, stories, and messages with “close friends” (an exclusive list of people you acknowledge as close friends). Threads is (or was) Instagram’s attempt to compete with Snapchat, as they worked in essentially the same way.

Threads came out shortly after Instagram killed its previous messenger app Direct, whose purpose was to provide direct text functionality to Instagram users without opening the main app. Now Threads is also getting killed after a lackluster two-year run.

Why Threads’ Demise Was Inevitable

Facebook’s rebrand to Meta is part of a drive by the company to unify its products. This integration has created lots of overlap between the different products. For example, Instagram and Messenger are now unified, making Threads a redundant feature. Indeed, the company updated Threads last year to make all Instagram messages displayed within the app.

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In addition, Threads failed to deliver a smooth user experience, leading to lackluster ratings on app stores and few downloads. It was a clunky experience, forcing users to switch back and forth between Threads and the main app. After a few tries, several users got fed up and stuck to the main app, totally forgetting about Threads. And it showed, as Threads never managed more than 14 million downloads, compared to Instagram, which has nearly 1.4 Billion monthly active users.

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Instagram never marketed Threads aggressively, which would explain the lackluster downloads. It is as if Instagram launched Threads and then forgot about it themselves and failed to remind users that it even existed.

Threads Will Not Be Missed

It’s likely that Threads has fewer than 100,000 active users right now. If you are one of them, you are likely a diehard user. However, it’s time to get ready to say so long and farewell when Threads shuts down in December. And, if you’re looking for a replacement, there’s always Snapchat.