Mark Zuckerberg says Threads is testing custom feeds for certain profiles or topics; the Threads' version seems easier to use than Bluesky's custom feeds
Threads is testing a way to create custom feeds for certain profiles or topics, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Friday.
The VergeEmma Roth
Context & Ripple Effects
Threads had been adding discovery and control features, including a US Trending now page, after earlier product updates such as sharing posts to Instagram DMs and custom media alt text. Custom feeds extend that work from platform-selected discovery toward user-selected streams.
The test also puts Threads in more direct product comparison with Bluesky: the reported advantage is not the existence of custom feeds, but a potentially simpler way to make them. Later coverage indicates the feature path progressed to letting people make a custom feed their default.
First-order effects
Selected Threads users can create feeds around chosen profiles or topics, giving them an alternative to the app’s standard feed for following specific conversations.
Threads gains a more configurable discovery tool, while Bluesky faces a direct usability comparison around a feature it already offers.
Second-order effects
If the test broadens, creators and communities can direct audiences to topical or account-based streams rather than relying solely on the main feed’s distribution.
Making feed creation and selection simpler raises the value of later controls such as setting a custom feed as the default, increasing pressure on social platforms to compete on user control as well as recommendation quality.
Third-order effects
The move points to social feeds becoming layered products: algorithmic defaults remain central, but user-built views can reduce the all-or-nothing choice between accepting a ranking system and leaving a platform.
Whether custom feeds materially shift engagement depends on adoption and default placement; the durable competitive question is which network can make user control convenient without fragmenting audience discovery.
The trend: Large social networks are adding configurable feed layers to retain the reach of algorithmic discovery while offering users more control over what they see.
Threads could have done this ages ago, and users would have been thrilled. But they wait until folks go to Bluesky and go “HOLY COW, LISTS AND STARTER PACKS WOOOHOOO!!” Then it's suddenly a good idea.
Better get on it, Zuck. Bluesky is already ahead of the game in terms of features. Threads need significantly stronger features to have long-term staying power. Customized feeds are a good idea. Let's also get chronological feeds going.
What am I missing? Bluesky was started by the same person who brought us Twitter. It's a corp that has been pretty shady in their answers about how they're going to monetize. I get that they cut all ties with X and Jack, but it's still for-profit...Why am I seeing all these po…