this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2023
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Automatically creating a shadow account for everyone on Instagram?

Even allowing people to follow that account?

Sounds like they really wanted to push Threads out the door in a big way.

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[–] [email protected] 86 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Why does everything have to be a conspiracy with some people? Threads literally and directly explains that it uses your Instagram account. They're the same account. Nothing crazy. No magic. No oogie boogie. Just the same account.

[–] YellowtoOrange 31 points 1 year ago (3 children)

You need to activate the threads account. People are being asked to follow accounts which haven't been activated IE created.

You're missing the point.

[–] o_oli 11 points 1 year ago

So think of it like a 'feature' of Instagram then. You can enable the feature or you can leave it disabled but either way its sharing user data and login information etc.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I don't think I'm missing any point. Have you used it? They're owned by the same company. Threads is separate but part of Instagram. Other than the user name being reserved on Threads in case the Instagram user wants to sign up, there isn't an account created. If you try to search the name of any of those accounts in Threads it doesn't come up at all. (Edit: mistyped a word)

[–] Lenins2ndCat 29 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It definitely is oogie boogie, which is what makes it illegal in europe as it's against gdpr, which is why it's not available in europe.

[–] Goodie 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They're doing some dodgy stuff with your data, that's for sure. But the sign-up is smooth. Instagram has a LOT of users, and Meta is leveraging that and making it super easy to share to IG that you have made said threads account (and if you don't, they will do it for you). The FOMO is real.

They have taken the biggest challenge to use a new social media platform, rebuilding your spidery web of follows, mutuals, weird interests, and friends, and made it basically transparent. It's a UX marvel. The sign-up numbers reflect that IMO.

[–] Lenins2ndCat 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Sharing data of users from one company to another company without their consent is literally what GDPR exists to stop. Instagram is one company. Threads is another company.

If it isn't oogie boogie then it literally wouldn't have massive legislation against it preventing it worldwide for eu citizens.

[–] DaisyLee 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Is threads a separate company though? It's pretty explicit in saying "Threads an Instagram App"

[–] Lenins2ndCat 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

In European law it doesn't matter. You try and bypass laws and the courts have none of it. It's very "fuck around find out". They already decided against them for antitrust for doing exactly that.

That was the ruling [PDF] from the European Union's highest court, the Court of Justice, when it upheld a decision by German antitrust regulators that Meta had abused its dominance in social media by milking users for information and swirling it together to serve up ads to users.

If you bypass shit in the EU they slap you with something else and make an example of you.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

None of the data other than the user name is shown in Threads until the user from Instagram activates their account. I've tried to look up a number of the people from Instagram on Threads and if they haven't signed up, then the search results are zero.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Being able to use the same credentials for logging in is something else than creating a public profile for users that never signed up for the service.

[–] fidodo 6 points 1 year ago

It's basically just a new feature for Instagram, but in a new app because it's too different from the standard Instagram feed.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Also if you click one of the users who haven't signed up yet it just pre-queues your follow and says "You'll automatically follow then when/if they join threads"(I don't remember the exact wording here). This is blown out of proportion.

[–] HelloHotel 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Your correct in a technical sense (eccept for mabe the fetaverse linkages) but not a semantic one,

Yes its absolutely technically true that people delete their unified account from the "other place to do so called threads account management page"

but semantically its a "new service" that they were "signed up for" with its own app, and if/when they delete their "threads account" everything else goes with it for some odd reason

Facebook and their dumb opaqeness