The different social networks are starting to come together.
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It looks like the fediverse is continuing to open up. In late March, Meta’s Threads introduced a beta feature that allows users from the US, Canada, or Japan to cross-post and view likes from Mastodon and, presumably, other federated social networks. In June, it added that ability to over 100 countries.
While you can follow a step-by-step process to get to the Fediverse settings dialog, where you can opt in or out of sharing your Threads posts, there is now a single link that will take you right there.
If you want to do it the long way around, you can still do it from the mobile app or the web version:
- On Threads’ mobile app, tap your profile icon in the lower-right corner, tap the parallel lines in the upper-right corner, and select Account > Fediverse sharing.
- On the web version, tap the two lines in the lower left, then select Settings > the Account tab > Fediverse sharing.
Once you select Fediverse sharing, you will probably be moved through a series of explanatory screens that tell you what the fediverse is and how sharing works (you will need a public profile) and warn you that once your post is out in the fediverse, Threads has no control over the rules of the servers it lands on. If you stop sharing, Meta can request that any previously shared posts be removed from another server, but that’s all. [Note: these were the warnings I observed when I first went through the process in March; since they only appear the first time you enable sharing, it’s possible they may have changed since then.]
Some other things to keep in mind:
- You can turn sharing off anytime you want to; Threads will request your previous entries be deleted from other servers but can’t promise anything. And if you change your mind, you can turn sharing back on — but you’ll have to wait 30 days (something I unfortunately didn’t realize when I was trying it out…).
- According to Meta, any replies that you post on Threads will also be shared to other servers — but only if the post’s author has also turned on sharing. However, you can’t share or reply back to other replies from users on other servers (but you can “like” their replies).
- You can find out who has turned on sharing by looking for the little sharing icon (tiny arrows in a rounded square) next to their name in their Threads profile.
So, what does that all mean?
It means, according to Meta, that “your Threads profile can be followed by people using different servers on the fediverse, and eventually, you’ll be able to follow them from Threads.” If you’ve turned your sharing on and you select “Fediverse sharing,” you’ll be reminded of your username and told that you can now connect and share with others in the fediverse.
How significant this is depends on how well cross-posting works in the future, how smooth the process becomes, and what kinds of security measures are put into place to prevent bad actors from using it to invade servers that are meant to be safe spaces, among other issues. As mentioned above, I’ve been using it since March and have found that the process works nicely. This could be the beginning of a much more comprehensive type of social networking.
Update September 13th, 2024: Updated to include the single link leading to the fediverse sharing dialog, along with other changes.
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