Threads expands its keyword muting feature's 'hidden words' to feeds, searches, and profiles

Adam Mosseri, head of Threads and Instagram, announced that the 'hidden words' feature, which previously only applied to replies, will now be expanded to filter unwanted keywords from feeds, searches, and profiles.

To access 'Hidden Words', open the Settings page in the app.

Tap 'Privacy Settings.'

Tap 'Hidden words.'

Tap 'Manage custom words and phrases.'

Enter the words you want to filter, separated by commas, and tap 'Add.'

The following will be added, and posts containing the keyword will no longer be displayed. However, at the time of writing this article, I was unable to confirm the scope of the change to include 'Feed' on my Android device.

Until now, 'hidden words' only applied to replies to posts, but from April 26, 2024, they will also be applied to feeds, searches, and profiles.

In addition to expanding the scope of 'hidden words,' the company is also testing a way to choose who can quote your posts and a feature to mute notifications for posts. 'These features will give you more control over your experience on Threads, and we hope they will help keep Threads a positive place for conversation. If you participate in the tests, please let us know what you think,' Mosseri said.

Meta's financial results were announced on April 24, two days before the announcement, and it was shown that revenue for the first quarter of 2024 (January to March) was strong, increasing 27% year-on-year to $36.455 billion (approximately 5.67 trillion yen). In particular, ad impressions displayed on Instagram, Threads, etc. increased 20% year-on-year, and the average price per ad also increased by 6%.

Meta has been focusing on AI in recent years, and has announced that it will increase its expected capital expenditures for the full year by up to $10 billion (approximately 1.55 trillion yen) in 2024 to continue accelerating infrastructure investments to support its AI roadmap. Meta's AI assistant has been used by tens of millions of people since its release, but building cutting-edge AI requires extensive work and is likely to take more than several years, and the company is considering multiple ways to monetize it with an eye to the future.