Key facts
- Threads is adding translation support to its Live Chats feature.
- Access to start Live Chats is being expanded to "Community Champions."
- Hosts can now invite up to three co-hosts to manage conversations.
- Hosts will have the ability to delete messages for all participants.
- The platform is testing ways to make host messages more visually prominent.
- Desktop support and pinned messages are coming soon to Threads.
Meta's Threads is rolling out new features for its Live Chats functionality and broadening its availability to more users. The updates aim to enhance real-time conversations on the platform and make it more competitive with X.
Key additions include translation support, which will make conversations more accessible to a global audience. The ability to initiate Live Chats is also being extended to "Community Champions," a designation for users with significant followings and engagement within their communities.
For chat hosts, Threads is introducing the capability to invite up to three co-hosts, facilitating better management of discussions and adding more voices. Hosts will also gain the ability to delete messages for everyone in the chat, and the platform is exploring ways to make host messages more visually distinct.
Threads, which initially lagged behind X in features for real-time conversation, has since added search, hashtags, and a chronological feed. Live Chats are presented as a differentiator designed to increase the platform's timeliness and relevance, with hundreds of chats reportedly occurring daily since its launch.
Users in Live Chats can send messages, photos, videos, links, and emoji reactions, with up to 150 participants able to actively message. Additional users can observe, react, and participate in polls in a spectator mode.
Looking ahead, Threads has teased the upcoming introduction of desktop support and pinned messages, both highly requested features by creators. The platform recently surpassed 500 million monthly active users, driven by the addition of features like DMs and desktop messaging.