Threads adds a chronological feed as Twitter burns to the ground

Threads is about to get vastly more useful as Meta has started rolling out the option to see a chronological feed of posts from the people you follow. Many observers said this was a key feature Threads needed to truly compete with Twitter, long a vital source of real-time information. But as Twitter (sorry, X) owner Elon Musk continues to reduce his app to rubble, Threads is looking like a more viable destination for up-to-the-minute news and updates.

You'll need to update to the latest version of Threads to see the chronological feed, but it might not appear for you immediately. To switch between the For You and Following feed, tap the Threads logo or the home icon and you can swipe from one to the other.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the rollout of the chronological feed on his Instagram broadcast channel (Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, said a while back that such an option was on the way). The Meta CEO added that Threads has gained another vitally important feature in the form of translations. When you see a post in a language you don't understand, you can tap the bottom right corner to translate it.

Meta has added a few other features to Threads. In the Activity tab, you can now filter notifications by follows, replies, mentions, quoted posts, reposts and interactions from verified accounts (or just opt to view all your notifications together). The Threads team is also introducing a new follow button to make it easier to follow people back and a way to approve all your follow requests at once if your account is private.

Zuckerberg said there was more to come, hopefully including the ability to post to Threads from the web, direct messages, improved accessibility, better search and a TweetDeck-like way to keep tabs on Threads posts. Giving users what they ask for is one way to keep them coming back.

Update 7/25 1:22PM ET: Added more details about the new features.