Deleting your Threads profile will also kill your Instagram account

If you’ve jumped the gun like me and have already joined Threads, Meta’s new wannabe Twitter alternative, you might be in for some major disappointment. It turns out you cannot delete your Threads profile without also deleting your Instagram account. This sly and not-so-user-friendly growth hack from Meta ensures you can’t leave Threads once you’ve joined unless you’re also ready to give up that Instagram account you’ve been posting on for years.

Meta’s supplemental privacy policy states, “You may deactivate your Threads profile at any time, but your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account.”

That said, you can deactivate your Threads profile temporarily through the privacy settings in the app. Meta notes that your profile, threads, replies, and likes will all be hidden during the deactivation period. You can reactivate your profile by simply logging back into the Threads app.

The policy has come as a surprise to many new Threads users, and understandably so. This is probably something Meta should have mentioned in bold during the sign-up process rather than tucking it away in the terms.

Anyhow, if you’re someone who wants to join Threads just to see what it’s all about, you may want to reconsider now that you know that a profile on the platform is something you won’t be able to erase without repercussions on your Instagram account.