Over a year has gone by since the Meta’s Threads platform entered the online social world, poised to compete with the declining Twitter, now referred to as X, courtesy of a name change by Elon Musk. Although Threads hasn’t entirely ousted its competitor, it has managed to remain relevant and attract a substantial number of new users.
Nevertheless, with its growth has come an influx of the less enjoyable aspects of social media. Take for instance, the individuals who love to lecture, always insisting they know the best way to handle every situation (Spoiler: It’s not how you would typically respond). The confrontational and aggressive post creators who turn the platform into a virtual Wild West also pose a challenge. Lately though, Threads has been overrun by a torrent of complaints and grumbles.
My Threads news feed is brimming with narratives of travel-related grievances. Sometimes, a righteous grumble is warranted, and social media provides a somewhat anonymous platform to air it. But here emerges Threads’ issue: when you engage with one post about a specific topic, the algorithm tends to overdo it by recommending a plethora of similar posts.
If you read one discussion about the irate passenger from 14B demanding a seat switch so they can sit beside their partner, the outcome is that you’re bombarded with countless stories about dealing with an arrogant passenger who casually settled themselves in a pre-reserved extra legroom seat and didn’t move because they wanted to see the sun rising from their right side.
Throw in reviews of Mixx Streambuds Solo 2: Economical Bluetooth earbuds with decent sound quality, Emporia ME.6: A versatile smartphone not just for the elderly, iPad Air 2024: A sound middle-of-the-range choice, and Switchbot S10: A competent floor-cleaning robot that demands careful handling.
It all culminates in the cabin crew stepping in to resolve the issue, sending the passenger to sit on the malfunctioning middle seat next to the only functional toilet on the airplane for the entirety of the flight, to the applause of other passengers.
Tired of the deluge of such stories? Try using Threads’ hidden words feature to turn off the flood of tales.
Most social media outlets, including Threads, enable you to block certain words or phrases from appearing on your timeline. If you wish to do so on the Threads app, navigate to your personal profile page – that’s the little symbol of a person located bottom right. Then tap the icon in the top right that looks like two lines – this will get you to Privacy>Hidden Words>Manage Custom Words and Phrases. Here, you can enter all the words or phrases you wish to block, separating each with a comma.
For Threads website users, go to Threads.net and log into your profile. Then find the icon that resembles two lines – it’s towards the bottom left of the screen – this is the “more” option. Here’s the path to follow Settings > Privacy > Hidden Words > Manage Custom Words and Phrases.
Should you at some point wish to undo this action, simply return to your list, select the word or the phrase, and tap the x next to it. This will remove it from your list and allow you to enjoy your favourite airline tales and stories of audacious travellers once again.
This feature is also a convenient way to avoid spoilers for sporting events you’ve not yet watched or conversations about suspenseful episodes of the TV show you’re currently hooked on, until you’ve managed to watch all the previous episodes.