ESafety

This Newsletter we will be exploring the newly launched app "Threads".

Threads has been given a minimum age limit of 12 in the Apple App Store and Parental Guidance in the Google Play Store. However, the minimum age rating for Instagram is still 13 and over. The Threads app follows Instagram's community guidelines with some additions of its own.

Threads was launched on the 5th of July 2023, and is a microblogging platform similar to Twitter that is developed by Meta. The app allows you to post messages of up to 500 characters and include links, photos and videos up to five minutes long. You can like, repost, reply to or quote a ‘thread’, and the number of likes and replies a post receives is shown.

You must have an Instagram account to log in and adhere to Instagram’s Community Guidelines on behaviour. You can unfollow, block, restrict and report a profile, and you can also control who can mention you and filter out replies that contain certain words.

Threads accounts are open to the public by default unless you are 16 (or 18 in certain countries), in which case your account will be set to private by default. You can choose to make your account public or private, meaning it is only visible to people you follow. Using Threads is free but a lot of personal data on users is collected.

Website: threads.net Apps: Android app, Apple iOS app

How do people use Threads?

Learn more about the benefits and risks associated with how people use content sharing services like Threads.

Threads is used for: content sharing, location sharing, messaging/online chat, online relationships, photo/video sharing and screen capture.

How can you report online abuse, ask for content to be removed or block someone?

• Safety and reporting
  Advice on how to report something, remove a follower or block someone on Threads is on the Threads help page.
• Restrict someone
  Advice on how to restrict someone, meaning you won’t receive any more notifications about that person even if they like, reply, repost or quote your content, is on the Threads help page.

How can you moderate comments and tagging?

• Manage who can mention you
  Advice on how to choose who can mention you is on the Threads help page.
• Hide replies that you don't want to see on Threads
  Advice on how to filter out common offensive words or add custom words to hide replies that contain these words is on the Threads help page.

How can you protect your personal information?

• Manage your privacy, visibility and account settings
  The Threads help page has advice on how to switch your profile to private and manage privacy settings. There is also advice on keeping your account secure.

Note: This information is taken directly from https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-topics/esafety-guide/threads