Thinking about downloading Threads, just to try it out? You can always just delete your Threads account and the app later, so no need to worry about ongoing tracking from Meta, right? It should be perfectly safe!
Wrong.
Meta links your Threads account to your Instagram account. You can disable your Threads account, but you can only ever delete it if you also delete your Instagram account. Did Meta intentionally design Threads as a trap?
Free to Delete Data
This could be one of the reasons Meta didn’t release the Threads app in Europe. GDPR states people have the right to the data that companies store. They can download a copy of it or request that it’s deleted on their servers. However, by tying the account for one service to another service, Meta has made it impossible to delete your Threads account without sacrificing your Instagram account. You don’t see this with their other platforms. For example, you can have a WhatsApp account without a Facebook account, and delete your Facebook account without deleting your Instagram account.
By linking your accounts together, as Meta has done, they’ve made deleting your Threads account seem impossible. You’re locked into having it, so why bother disabling it? They know that, by only allowing you to disable it, you’re more likely to come back to the service as you won’t have to sign up again. It’s possible Meta made this decision to make users feel “trapped” in their service. It could work.
Fast Growth, No Going Back
On the first day, over 30 million users reportedly signed up. That’s far more than the total number of current Mastodon users. They did that in just one day. Meta has made it easy for users to create an account and sign up, and built up plenty of excitement prior to the launch. If those users feel like they can’t leave the service, it could be an excellent start for the Twitter competitor.
Of course, as a Meta app, Threads has some massive privacy issues. They grab health data at a time when people could be prosecuted for their healthcare, whether its abortions or gender-affirming healthcare. Meta’s gobbling up personal identifiers, financial information and more “sensitive data,” according to their own App Store listing. That could be dangerous. Combining that with the fact that you can’t delete your account, and you may want to stay away entirely. For those who signed up on day one, it may already be too late.