Threads users can now follow fediverse accounts that have interacted with a Threads post; users won't see fediverse posts in feeds, but will on account profiles
However, I believe that interoperability is necessary for survival of all of these platforms. … Eugen Rochko / @Gargron@mastodon.social : @mosseri just announced that #Threads users can finally follow fediverse accounts. Which means you can now reach 200M people from your Mastodon account without ever using Threads yourself. True decentralization happens on the fediverse! Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : Threads users can finally follow Mastodon posters, if they jump through hoops to find them, but it might just be too little too late with how Bluesky has exploded in popularity Kevin Beaumont / @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social : pretty cool, following people from Threads and seeing replies, favourites and such bidirectionally Tim Chambers / @tchambers@indieweb.social : Such an important milestone in Threads supporting the full two-way fediverse interoperability... https://www.threads.net/... Threads: Mark Zuckerberg / @zuck : Next step towards making Threads fully interoperable in the fediverse: now you'll be able to follow people from other fediverse servers who liked, followed or replied to federated profiles on Threads. Adam Mosseri / @mosseri : Exciting update for those of you following our fediverse journey - starting today, you can follow people from other fediverse servers who have interacted with federated users or posts on Threads. You can see their posts by navigating to their profile, and you can also choose to be notified when they post on their server. … @threads : Another fediverse update: Starting today, if you've turned on sharing to the fediverse, you can follow profiles from other fediverse servers. If someone from the fediverse follows, likes or replies to a federated Threads user, you can now view their profile and follow them from Threads. … Peter Cottle / @pcottle : 🪐 It's a Fediverse Holiday Miracle!! 🪐 — Starting today we are taking a HUGE step towards bidirectional interop on Threads - you can now view profiles, follow, and receive post notifications from people across the Fediverse! … Chris Messina / @chris : Christmas came early this year! Jason Beaird / @jasongraphix : Has anyone been able to follow any non-Mastodon fediverse accounts from Threads? I've tried profiles I know on ActivityPub for Wordpress, Pixelfed, Misskey, Micro .blog, Sharkey, GNU Social, Friendica, GoToSocial, Peertube... Most of those don't load at all and attempting to follow the ones that do show a profile (like Pixelfed) never go through. … Jason Beaird / @jasongraphix : Whoa! I was expecting replies to fediverse profiles before we made it to follow. SO stoked about this. Evan Prodromou / @evanprodromou : I'm very excited to see two-way interactions happening on Threads. Congratulations to the Threads team on this epic step forward. Chris Messina / @chris : You can now follow people from the fediverse on Threads! Joe Fabisevich / @mergesort : A nail in the coffin for people who kept saying “Threads will never federate” no matter how much evidence there was against that hypothesis. I posted this a few days after Threads launched, and I still firmly believe that federating is a big advantage for Meta. Matthew Facciani / @matthewfacciani : This is actually a very cool update as Threads continues to connect more seamlessly with other social media platforms that are part of the Fediverse. — RE: https://www.threads.net/... Tom Warren / @tomwarrenuk : another good Threads + fediverse change 👍 — RE: https://www.threads.net/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Threads’ federation work has moved from an early test of making Threads posts available to ActivityPub services to a beta that enabled cross-posting and visibility into federated engagement. The new follow control adds a durable relationship layer to those earlier publishing and feedback connections.
It also advances a capability Adam Mosseri had outlined in Threads’ initial federation roadmap: following non-Threads accounts. But limiting federated posts to profile views, rather than the main feed, preserves a clear boundary between connection and full timeline integration.
First-order effects
- Threads users can follow eligible fediverse accounts, view their profiles, and opt into notifications after those accounts have interacted with a federated Threads post.
- Fediverse accounts gain a path to Threads followers without joining Threads, while their posts remain unavailable in Threads’ feed-based discovery.
Second-order effects
- Creators and services on the fediverse have a stronger incentive to interact with federated Threads posts to become discoverable, but the interaction prerequisite and profile-only viewing add friction to audience growth.
- Threads extends the two-way interaction model it had been building through federated follower and like visibility without giving external posts equal placement in its core feed.
Third-order effects
- If Threads continues adding relationship features before feed integration, federation may develop as a controlled distribution and identity layer rather than a fully blended social timeline.
- The move reinforces an interoperability model in which large platforms can expose network connections while retaining control over ranking and primary discovery surfaces.
The trend: Social platforms are adopting selective federation to widen reach and portability while keeping their core feed experience under platform control.