143
submitted 1 year ago by 0x815@feddit.de to c/technology@beehaw.org

Who is surprised?

top 38 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] 312@lemm.ee 59 points 1 year ago

There’s plenty of things to hate Meta for, but this is inaccurate.

You log into Threads with your Instagram account. There’s no “shadow account”, you’re logging into a second service with the same account and credentials.

[-] pglpm@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 year ago

I agree that the wording is inaccurate, but some of the essence remains: the second "service" is forced on you. It's somewhat as if anyone with a Fakebook account also automatically had a Whatsapp or Instagram account, or some permutation of this.

[-] 312@lemm.ee 32 points 1 year ago

It’s not forced on you. If you don’t download Threads and log in, you’re not on threads.

This is akin to saying Google Calendar is “forced” on you if you have a Gmail account. They are separate services that use a common credential, you are under no obligation to use any or all of those services.

[-] 0x815@feddit.de 8 points 1 year ago

It’s not forced on you. If you don’t download Threads and log in, you’re not on threads.

Although that's technically true, it is clear what Meta is doing here (and even if most may know that the company sucks, I personally feel it is important report on things like that). Meta's tactics should create a hype making people believe there are substantially more users than there actually are. The mass of people won't recognize (or even care?) what's going on I'm afraid.

[-] 312@lemm.ee 14 points 1 year ago

What is Meta doing here? I’m not clear on what the point being made is.

If you’re insinuating that they are doing this to artificially inflate user counts, why wouldn’t they be reporting about how there are 2+ billion threads users in the first week?

They don’t need to manufacture hype - like Meta or not, in the first 96 hours they brought in almost 100 million users. Thats a third of Twitter’s entire active user base, in less than a week.

[-] 0x815@feddit.de 4 points 1 year ago

It seems we agree to disagree. The point I make is pretty clear, and it doesn't make sense if you repeating your arvuments over and over again.

[-] 312@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago

But the point you’re making isn’t clear which is why I asked if you could clarify - what is the point you’re making?

[-] sin_free_for_00_days@lemmy.one 2 points 1 year ago

@0x815@feddit.de seems pretty clear to me buddy. I'm not sure what you aren't getting.

[-] 312@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago

If it’s so obvious why can’t you state it clearly?

It seems like the insinuation is that Threads is artificially inflating user counts with “shadow accounts” that aren’t real - however it’s been clearly determined that they aren’t.

So, if it’s not that, then, again… what’s the “so obvious” point I’m missing?

[-] nan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 year ago

Yeah, they aren’t creating shadow accounts. For a while if you logged into threads you even got a badge on your Instagram page with your sign up number on Threads.

[-] sin_free_for_00_days@lemmy.one 1 points 1 year ago

Oh god, I tire of you. Either trolling or just really dense. I'm going to block you and move on. I suggest you do the same. Jesus christ.

[-] 312@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Super shitty response to the question you still haven’t given an answer to, after I reiterated again what my understanding of the “so obvious” point was.

Whatever you want dude, happy to block you.

[-] reclipse@lemdro.id 1 points 1 year ago

there are substantially more users than there actually are.

Do you have any source for that?

[-] peter@feddit.uk 7 points 1 year ago

Google is creating SHADOW Google calendar accounts for you if you use Gmail! Look! I sent my friend a calendar invite but they've never even logged into Google calendar!

[-] BCsven@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 year ago

Nah its more like having Telegram prompt me "Jay is on Telegram, say Hi to Jay" when he hasn't created an account or joined. Currently Telegram only shows those who actively joined. This is the point of the post.

[-] 312@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

Threads only shows users who have signed in to Threads. If you mention an Instagram user in a Threads post that has not signed in to Threads prior, the mention is removed because it’s not a valid handle.

I urge you to read through the link in the original post to the Mastodon user who originally made this claim, where you’ll find plenty of people more eloquent than me explaining why this is inaccurate.

[-] Raeyin@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

I followed the link as you suggested. I found a slight correction on the way it works.

A "shadow account" was some layperson's attempt to describe what happened. That seemed clear to me immediately. It also seems that Threads and Instagram are much more intertwined than users expect.

I understand why this would upset people! I was furious when I tapped one screen wrong and connected my Facebook and Instagram accounts. It can't be undone. It changed a profile picture. I didn't quite become angry enough to delete both, but I stopped using them.

[-] BCsven@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

Ok, thanks for the info

[-] pglpm@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago

I get what you're saying. From my point of view we're just playing on the semantics of "service" and "app" here. I had indeed the same problem with Google and Hangouts.

[-] 312@lemm.ee 12 points 1 year ago

I too understand where you’re coming from, but I think it’s an important distinction, not semantics.

If Meta was simply creating a duplicitous profile for every Instagram user, that would be pretty predatory and misleading.

However, if that were the case, they would also be bragging about having 2+ billion Threads “users”.

It also implies that users could interact with these “shadow accounts” even if that person never used Threads, which is not the case.

As it currently works, if you try to mention a user who is on Instagram but isn’t on Threads, nothing happens, the mention is stripped because it’s not a valid handle.

[-] argv_minus_one@beehaw.org 8 points 1 year ago

Okay, but that still means their user count is fake.

[-] nan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 1 year ago

Instagram has over a billion users.

Their user count is the number of Instagram users that have activated threads.

If you follow someone who hasn’t, it will automatically follow them if they do activate. That doesn’t mean they created some shadow profile.

[-] Sharmat@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago

Yeah, they probably just duplicated the username DB from instagram, so whenever someone starts using Threads, their username will already be “reserved” for them in an empty profile.

[-] 312@lemm.ee 18 points 1 year ago

It’s probably even more simple than that - a single DB with a flag for threads_enabled = true/false.

They made it super clear in advance this is how it would work, the app is called “Threads, an Instagram app”, but as always people froth at the mouth for any opportunity to say “Zuckerberg bad”.

That’s not some big secret. Everyone knows meta sucks. We don’t need to make stuff up to prove that. They do that on their own.

[-] RealM@kbin.social 34 points 1 year ago

"Hey, we already have 30 million users in just 3 days! Look everyone how relevant we are!!"

Sure buddy.

[-] echo@sopuli.xyz 24 points 1 year ago

i am begging fedi users to understand that threads and instagram use the same account

[-] SaltySalamander@lemmy.fmhy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

At this point it's just willful ignorance.

[-] jakwithoutac@feddit.uk 0 points 1 year ago

No, it’s just that users don’t like systems where you have to opt out by default. Like you used to have to opt out of shitty marketing emails after a purchase, but then we changed that to opt in and everyone is happier.

[-] SaltySalamander@lemmy.fmhy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

I guess it's a god thing you have to opt in to Threads, huh?

[-] nan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This is stupid. If you “follow” someone who is on Instagram but isn’t on Threads, it automatically follows them when/if they sign up for Threads. It even tells you this on the page.

How does it know you exist? Because it suggests you follow everyone you are already following on Instagram. It is using your Instagram account, there is no standalone Threads account. This isn’t rocket science.

When they say the numbers, they are talking about the number of Instagram users that have also signed up for Threads. For a while it when put a badge on your Instagram profile with what sign up number you were.

[-] xuxebiko@kbin.social 16 points 1 year ago

Reptilian alien who controls the Meta universe: They "trust me". Dumb fucks.

[-] Vestria@beehaw.org 11 points 1 year ago

So it's time to delete my old IG if I can remember the log in, got it.

[-] Raeyin@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

If you used your real info, you can get it deleted by pretending to live in California. I think that Meta's compliance page is hard to find.

[-] kglitch@kglitch.social 8 points 1 year ago

Not only that, they create a 'shadow' profile of you even if you don't have any meta accounts at all.

https://www.newsweek.com/facebook-tracking-you-even-if-you-dont-have-account-888699

[-] trashhalo@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago

I don't think that's true. Example: a band I love has a Instagram at remembersportsband if I search threads for that name nothing comes up so I cannot follow them because they have not joined threads

[-] HarkMahlberg@kbin.social 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

They may have bulk imported a collection of accounts from Instagram into Threads to "kickstart" the site. And not every account was part of the collection.

[-] pvr@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

This is simply not true. Meta is not duplicating accounts into Threads. Your Threads and Instagram account are the exact same account. You delete one, you delete the other. There is no way to create a Threads account without first creating an Instagram account. And Threads is an opt-in application so you won't have it enabled for your IG account unless you sign up for it.

Now it makes sense why there already a couple of requests when I briefly installed threads.

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2023
143 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

37708 readers
155 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:


This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS