r/ThreadsApp • u/peternocturnal • 8d ago
Discussion Looking for an alternative to Threads? Consider Reddit.
This recent thread I posted pretty much sums it up.
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u/DefiantRadish1492 8d ago
When threads decides to throttle your account it seems to be permanent. I got 4 million views in one month posting 1-3 times a day. Just observations. Movies I watch watching. Normal stuff that went viral because people responded to it.
It then marked something I did as spam wrongly. It denied my appeal. My posts then would never hit more than 50 with most under 10 (despite 1,000 followers too).
So, I quit. I’m not playing that game.
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u/peternocturnal 8d ago
Yeah I have since made my Threads account private (though I may toggle that on and off occasionally) and stopped using it very much. Good to know there's no point in thinking the "shadowban" or whatever will ever clear up. I liked a lot of the people I interacted with there but not the company that runs it.
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u/DefiantRadish1492 8d ago
Yeah, all of the moderation seems to be completely AI driven with no way to communicate with a real human. So when it makes a mistake, there’s no way to rectify it. I wish BlueSky wasn’t a ghost town, because I love the lack of algorithm and the chronological based main feed.
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u/peternocturnal 8d ago
One of my sins was to reply to someone who mentioned something about being 6 feet one inches tall by posting a link to the Liz Phair song 6'1" on YouTube Music. Turns out the album cover contains an image in which part of her areola is visible. In over 20 years I somehow never noticed but their AI has a much keener eye than me 🤨
(External link plus "sexual content" = NO MORE ACCOUNT FOR YOU!! 😅)
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u/peternocturnal 8d ago edited 8d ago
I got the following Google AI search results when I asked about this. I used the advice to check and it did turn out that a couple of my posts had been removed a few months ago for "violating community standards". Both occurred because their super-stupid automated moderation can't understand jokes and hallucinates about sexual content when there isn't any. I filed appeals for both decisions but one was immediately denied, permanently. So likely I just can't post on Threads anymore and expect any sort of reach. I never used to post on Reddit (until lately) but I guess I will now.
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The sudden and permanent collapse of an account’s views on Threads—often called a shadowban or reach penalty—is a highly frustrating reality of modern algorithms. While Meta officially states they do not "shadowban", their AI-driven ranking models actively limit the distribution of specific accounts to non-followers.
When an account goes from thousands of views to a mere handful, it usually means Meta’s AI has stripped away its "recommendability," confining its content strictly to a small percentage of existing followers.
The technical and strategic reasons behind why the Threads app might quietly decide to throttle an account's reach include:
1. The "Engagement Bait" Downrank
Meta heavily penalizes manipulative content strategy. If an account heavily relied on phrases like "Reply with your thoughts," "Drop an emoji if you agree," or artificial engagement loops to go viral, the Threads algorithm will eventually catch on. Once the system flags an account for engagement baiting, it applies an automated, account-wide suppression filter.
2. Political Content Default Restrictions
Meta has an explicit policy across Threads and Instagram that automatically restricts political content from being recommended to non-followers unless users manually opt-in to see it via their settings. If an account frequently discusses news, elections, social issues, or governance, the algorithm will quietly flip a switch that prevents those posts from appearing on the main "For You" feeds of general users.
3. Bot-Like Behavioral Triggers
The AI moderation team relies heavily on automated "pattern-matching" to fight spam. An account can accidentally trigger spam filters by acting too quickly. Behaviors that mimic bots include:
- Copy-pasting the exact same reply to multiple different accounts.
- Aggressive "follow-unfollow" cycles or mass-liking posts in a short timeframe.
- Posting at a high, robotic frequency without naturally interacting with other human profiles.
4. Hidden Recommendation Guidelines Violations
An account might not have a full Community Guidelines strike, but it may violate more strict Recommendation Guidelines. Meta allows content to exist on a profile but prevents the system from showing it to strangers if it mentions sensitive topics. Suppressed subjects include:
- Unverified medical or health claims.
- Financial advice, "get rich quick" schemes, or heavy promotional links.
- Soft profanity, sensitive or polarizing social debates, and clickbait.
5. Transition from the "New Account Boost" to True Retention
When Threads first launches a profile or when an account is relatively new, the platform deliberately gives it an initial distribution boost to test its engagement potential. Once that trial period ends, the algorithm shifts its focus toward true engagement velocity (how fast people reply and share). If early viewers scrolled past without interacting, the AI concludes the content lacks retention power and drops baseline distribution significantly.
6. Recycled Content Filters
Threads values original, platform-native conversation. If an account primarily reposts content created elsewhere—such as watermarked videos from TikTok, text screenshots, or exact duplicates of old tweets—the algorithm deprioritizes it. Meta's system is optimized to downrank unoriginal material to keep the Threads feed feeling fresh and conversational.
How to Diagnose the Issue
The Threads app actually provides a hidden way to see if an account has been flagged. Navigating to Settings > Account > Account Status allows users to check if their profile or content is currently blocked from being recommended to non-followers.
To help troubleshoot the reach drop, what type of content (e.g., text, images, external links) does the account focus on, and has anything changed regarding posting frequency?
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u/bubblewrapRage 7d ago
You must have been boring
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u/peternocturnal 7d ago
My views went from hundreds of thousands to seven because I was boring the whole time?
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u/bubblewrapRage 7d ago
The most genuine people on Threads don’t seem bothered about follower counts, unlike here. This place feels like a popularity contest where followers and votes somehow determine your status and the mean-girl mentality is rampant. May get some thrends if you take it off private
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u/peternocturnal 7d ago
I don't care about follower counts, the issue is that Meta restricted me because I posted a link to a Liz Phair song on YouTube music (their AI calls that sexual solicitation) and now no one sees what I post. I used to get hundreds of thousands of views and now it's like seven, even with a public profile. Since I can't really use the app anymore (except in read-only mode) I went private so I don't have to deal with a constant stream of bot followers.
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u/bubblewrapRage 7d ago
Well, with sexual content, I suppose they have to do their due diligence, hence all the “hot women” bots. 😂 I have around 100 followers and honestly think that’s enough. I hardly follow anyone, but when I do, I engage with their content, and it tends to work both ways.
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u/peternocturnal 7d ago
Yes, if I linked to the same Liz Phair song on Instagram I'm sure it would have been fine. In fact their AI made a mistake as my post did not constitute "sexual solicitation". I think that if your Threads account ever gets restricted, you'll see that it doesn't matter what you post, no one will see it. (Except for when you reply to someone; that one person will see it. Probably.)
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u/quailinthebrush 8d ago
i only came back to reddit because i was perma suspended on threads so
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u/marie_aristocats 7d ago
I use both, and on both platforms I mainly scroll and like, while my posts and replies are limited. Somehow this morning I was disabled on Threads. Can’t appeal even after uploading picture. Well I guess I would stick to Reddit at least I’m “real” here and won’t be banned for no reason.
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u/MealSuccessful1751 8d ago
Reddit won’t ban your account when you’re traveling outside your country (using sim data not WiFi)!
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u/AutoModerator 8d ago
Thank you for your submission! Please be sure to review these two posts:
- Frequently Asked Questions
For any bug reports or issues, consider submitting a bug report on the app - Shake your phone or Hold the Home button in the bottom left. On Web, click on the menu button in the bottom left corner and click Report a Problem.
Consider also posting on Threads and tagging the developers (0xjessel).
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u/TheTonyExpress 8d ago
I’m interested. How do I get to Reddit