Threads Expands Direct Messages to the EU, Adds Group Chats Support

Threads is improving the direct messages features it introduced back in July. DMs in Threads will finally come to EU users over the next few days, and support for group messages is now available for everyone else.

“Since July, we’ve added support for photos, videos, GIFs, and stickers in messaging,” the team said today. “We’ve also built controls that help protect you from potentially unwanted interactions, including a messaging requests folder to reduce unwanted messages in your main inbox, privacy settings for completely disabling message requests from people you don’t follow, and a hidden folder so you never have to see potentially harmful messages and spam.”

The new Group chats in Threads support up 50 users, and they can be customized with unique names. Threads users can only add people who follow them in group chats, and it will soon be possible to invite other people with a link.

Threads recently crossed 400 million monthly active users, and the platform recently started testing Facebook account sign-ups as an alternative to Instagram accounts. Adding private messaging features means that Thread users no longer need to switch apps to build deeper connections, and the team said today that improved inbox management tools are in the pipeline.