Threads
Adding a new “following topics” feature to Threads by Meta
Background
Threads is a social media platform that Meta launched in July 2023. Because its launch closely coincided with Twitter’s rebrand to “X” in 2022, Threads became an instant competitor to Twitter and other similar social media platforms.
Although I admire Threads' rapid launch as a fantastic way to garner a user base, it's clear that Meta launched an absolute minimum viable product. Many features were absent at the time of launch, leaving users dissatisfied.
Investigating the Problem
Because Threads accounts are permanently tethered to users’ Instagram profiles, its user base will likely stick around, even if they’re inactive right now. But is that enough to keep users happy? I needed to investigate why Threads was failing to gain traction before determining a feature that would improve users' satisfaction.
Market Analysis
I kicked off my research by analyzing two of Threads’ closest industry competitors, Twitter (X) and Bluesky. I also analyzed Instagram, since both Meta products share many aesthetic and structural similarities. Clearly, Threads has a lot to contend with as a newcomer to this social media space, but its ties to Instagram pose a major benefit.
Let’s Ask the Users
To learn users’ perspectives, I interviewed three Threads users via Discord and Google Meet. Since Threads is still growing its user base, it was difficult to find more participants who were familiar with the platform, so I supplemented these interviews with a general social media survey of six participants.
From the Affinity Map
After synthesizing my findings through affinity mapping, I noticed that the most frequently reported problem was difficulty finding interesting and engaging content. Because Threads is a new platform with less user-generated content on the site, it’s difficult to recommend relevant content to users in their newsfeeds.
This problem will diminish over time as Threads gains traction, but in the meantime, users are seeing a newsfeed cluttered with random accounts from brands and celebrities they aren’t interested in.
Defining the Problem
I reframed the pain points mentioned in my interviews as “How might we…” questions to clarify the problem and begin working toward a solution. Using the trends I noticed during affinity mapping, I determined two possible ways to approach users’ pain points. Between these two options, I felt the first question best addressed users’ concerns. Newsfeeds exist to deliver relevant content to the user, and right now, Threads isn’t accomplishing this goal.
The Solution
I determined the fastest way to give users more agency over their newsfeed content was to let users follow specific topics. By letting people select the topics they want to see, Threads’ algorithm would be able to recommend more relevant content. Both Threads and Instagram already have carousels in their UI kit suggested accounts to follow, so why not add suggested topics to follow?
This would mean designing a new feature that prompts users to follow topics, as well as adding a new content management item under Privacy Settings. Right now, Threads only allows users to input a list of words and phrases they don’t want to see, but there’s no way to indicate content they want to see more often.
The User Persona
Based on my research, I developed a persona to keep in mind while designing this new “topics” feature– meet Tyler, our persona for Threads.
Tyler likes keeping up with his friends and exploring his interests, but he’s having trouble doing this with Threads due to a lack of content on his newsfeed. He’s lost interest in Threads over the last several months, but if Tyler had a way to curate the content he sees on his feed, he might give it another try.
Flows & Sketches
When mapping the user flow for following topics, I determined that the best starting point and placement for this feature would be within the newsfeed and on the search page, where users look when seeking new content. Then, I created low-fidelity mockups for a cloud of tappable topic tags (say that five times fast) inspired by Twitter’s “topics” feature and the carousel patterns already used by Instagram and Threads.
Next, I created a second flow for navigating to the new “Interested” page under Privacy Settings. Since casual users are less familiar with their account settings, this new feature should also guide users to the new content management screen.
I followed a pattern from Instagram’s settings menu by adding an “Interested” menu item and changing “Hidden Words” to “Not Interested.” I also reused an input field pattern found under the Hidden Words→Manage Custom Words and Phrases item in Privacy Settings.
Higher Fidelity
Finally, it was time to flesh out my screens in Figma. Since Instagram already had a carousel in its UI library, it was easy to borrow from an established pattern while making small tweaks. I decided to make these tags appear similar to Instagram and Threads’ CTAs but distinguishable by the “×/+” icon inside. Instagram’s carousel pattern sometimes uses a tile at the end of the scroll with a link to another page– the perfect way to guide Threads users to their settings.
Usability Testing
Now, let’s see if it works! I recruited five participants for moderated usability testing conducted over video chat and in person. Testers found the process of tapping topic tags simple and intuitive, and several began selecting tags based on their real-life personal interests, totally unprompted.
There was a hiccup, though. The first three participants reported initial difficulty recognizing the new feature as a carousel. This problem may have been due in part to early tests being conducted on a desktop viewport with a simulated mobile screen. I hadn't considered this possibility, but it makes sense—users are not designers, and they may not interact the same way with a simulated mobile screen.
Although I conducted the following tests on an actual mobile screen, these early tests indicated there may be a larger problem with this carousel. I had personally encountered carousels without scroll indicators before, but for some reason, users weren’t recognizing the one I’d designed. In the next iteration, I added a series of dots to imply continuation and resized the tags so they would be more likely to bleed offscreen. Let’s see how it works out!
Final Revisions
Between tests, I asked several other designers for feedback. Although I was on the right track and users responded better to the dot indicators, something still felt…off. With their help, I realized that a series of dots below a carousel implies pagination rather than a fluid, continuous scroll, and that’s why users were getting stuck. Although I borrowed these paginated dots from Instagram’s UI library, I needed something a bit different.
Finally, I reached the solution– a simple scroll bar! Although I had to break slightly from Threads’ and Instagram’s current UI libraries, my final two tests with this version were accomplished without errors. For good measure, the final participants used my iPhone 13 to interact naturally with the prototype, just like they would with the real app.
High-Fidelity Wireframes
Finally, the new topics feature is done and ready to ship! In the end, I gained experience implementing a new feature and learned some important techniques for prototyping and testing. If I had to declare my biggest takeaway from this project, it would be the realization that testing participants would have benefitted from testing on a mobile screen from the start. That’s one lesson I’ll carry with me into future projects.
See For Yourself!
Check out this preview, or click the button below to view the fullscreen prototype in Figma! Thanks so much for checking out this case study. Oh, and one more thing before you go…
What’s Next?
Right now, my high-fidelity prototype only allows users to navigate to the new “Interested” menu item under Privacy settings, but I’d love to design flows for actually managing topics by adding and removing items using the input field. This would require developing and testing flows for adding and removing topics from the Settings page, but I’m up for the challenge!
Speaking of challenges, I would love to implement a totally new Explore page to replace the existing Search page. I considered this a potential solution to the content problem, but it would have involved adding several new features at once and would have taken much longer to complete. As a junior designer, I’m glad I chose the solution I did, but I’m interested in exploring this idea in the future!
