Meta is testing a feature that lets Threads users share posts with a limited group of followers rather than the whole platform. The company said the test, called Threads Friends, is running in Ireland, Italy and Japan. It is not available to users in the United States, and Meta has not said whether or when the test might expand.
Threads Friends works as a close friends list for the app. Users can choose to send a post to as many as 50 people, and that content stays hidden from everyone else on Threads. The app also refers to members of the group as Thriends.
The feature has an antecedent in Twitter's Circles, which arrived in 2022 and let users restrict posts to groups of up to 150 people. Twitter discontinued Circles roughly a year later. Threads Friends covers a smaller group size than Circles did.
Meta is assisting users in assembling their lists. A Meta spokesperson said the app will propose followers a user interacts with often, and the resulting list can be adjusted. After a list exists, users can tap a green bubble at the top of their feed to view friends' posts shared within the previous 24 hours.
Visual details remain limited. Laura Javier, product design director for Threads, offered a brief look at how a friends-only post will appear. She also demonstrated an Easter egg that swaps the Threads Friends name for Thriends.
The test's reach is confined to the three named countries for now, which leaves most US users without access. People in the test countries can still include others in their groups. Anyone added to a list will be able to see that person's friends-only posts, regardless of where the viewer is located.
Meta has not disclosed a timeline for deciding on wider availability. The company also has not released full images of the interface beyond Javier's preview.
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