Governance document

CA-D-000248

Threads Privacy Policy

Threads

Last change detected August 11, 2026 Privacy policy

SHA-256: 1e0e93581a7b4c0202f… 34 versions captured 19 changes documented

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This page describes what the document states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability may vary by jurisdiction. Methodology

30 Total

12 High severity

15 Medium severity

3 Low severity

Key Facts

With whom does Threads share a copy of a user's post and information?

Threads shares a copy of a user's post and information with a follower's Third Party Service so that service can store, process, and deliver the post when that follower is a Third Party User.

Why does Threads share a copy of a user's post and information with a follower's Third Party Service?

Threads shares a copy of a user's post and information with a follower's Third Party Service so that service can store, process, and deliver the post when that follower is a Third Party User.

When does Threads send a copy of a user's post and information to the applicable Third Party Service?

Threads sends a copy of a user's post and information to the applicable Third Party Service when the user's profile is public and a Third Party User replies to or likes one of their posts.

What data shared with Third Party Services usually includes?

Data shared with Third Party Services usually includes profile information such as username, name, profile picture, and bio, and could also include metadata such as IP address associated with the user's interaction.

What could data shared with Third Party Services also include?

Does Threads establish that information sent to Third Party Services is no longer in Meta's control and is subject to the terms and policies of those Third Party Services?

Threads establishes that information sent to Third Party Services is no longer in Meta's control and is subject to the terms and policies of those Third Party Services.

What information does Threads collect about a third-party account and profile?

Threads collects information about a third-party account and profile, including username, profile picture, and the name and IP address of the Third Party Service on which the user is registered.

Does Threads collect username, profile picture, and the name and IP address of the Third Party Service?

Threads collects information about a third-party account and profile, including username, profile picture, and the name and IP address of the Third Party Service on which the user is registered.

What information does Threads collect about a user's activity on Threads?

Threads collects information about a user's activity on Threads, including content created, types of content viewed or interacted with, how the user interacts with content, and metadata about that content.

Does Threads collect content created, types of content viewed or interacted with, and how the user interacts with content?

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Summary

Threads collects what you provide at sign-up and tracks your activity on the platform, using that information for its own services and for advertising across Meta Products. If any of your followers or people who interact with your posts use a third-party service connected to Threads, copies of your posts and your personal information — potentially including your IP address — are automatically sent to that external service, which then operates under its own rules rather than Meta's. Your username, name, profile picture, and bio are always visible to anyone, on or off Threads, and no privacy setting can change that.

Analysis

The Threads Privacy Policy establishes the data collection, usage, and sharing practices governing the Threads platform. Threads collects personal information at sign-up (name, email address, settings), behavioral and activity data (content created, content viewed, interaction patterns, content metadata), and third-party account information (username, profile picture, and the name and IP address of the user's third-party service). Collected information is used to provide, personalize, and improve Threads and other Meta Products, and to support measurement, analytics, and advertising services, with governing purposes defined by the broader Meta Privacy Policy. Data sharing with Third Party Services is triggered automatically by interoperability events — including a third-party follower receiving a post, or a third-party user liking or replying to a public post — and typically includes profile information as well as potentially IP address metadata; once transmitted, that information is outside Meta's control and governed by the receiving service's own terms. A user's username, name, profile picture, and bio are permanently and unconditionally public regardless of profile privacy settings.

What this means for you

As a Threads user, your core identifying information — username, name, profile picture, and bio — is permanently public and accessible to anyone, including people who do not have a Meta account, regardless of whether you set your profile to private. Routine interactions from users on connected third-party services (such as a like or a reply) automatically cause Threads to send copies of your posts and personal information, potentially including your IP address, to those external services, which then govern that data under their own policies rather than Meta's. Your activity on Threads, including what you view and how you interact with content, is collected and used for advertising and analytics across Meta Products. One concrete action available to you: reviewing and adjusting who follows your account can limit which third-party service interactions trigger automatic data sharing with external platforms.

Institutional Analysis

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19 important changes detected

34 versions captured · Last updated: August 2026

August 11, 2026

low

What changed Threads updated the section headings in its Privacy Policy to improve navigation and clarity. The previous headings 'How do I deactivate profile?', 'How do I manage information?', and 'How do I share with third parties?' were replaced with 'How do I delete my Threads profile?', 'How do I manage my Threads information?', and 'How do I restrict my Threads audience?' respectively. These changes reorganize how privacy-related topics are organized in the help documentation but do not alter the substantive privacy protections or data handling practices described in the policy.

Why this matters The updated Privacy Policy reorganizes section headings to provide clearer navigation of privacy-related topics. The change does not modify any underlying privacy protections, data handling practices, or user rights; it is a structural and labeling change to how the policy presents information about account management and data sharing.

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August 9, 2026

medium

What changed In an update detected on August 9, 2026, Threads removed seven FAQ items and related language from its privacy policy footer, including questions about profile deactivation, profile deletion, information management, third-party data sharing, and AI interaction disclosures. The removed text included a sentence stating 'Your interactions with AIs will be used to improve AI at Meta' and language directing users to Meta's AI terms. These FAQ items and disclosures are no longer present in the policy document.

Why this matters The updated policy removes FAQ sections that previously addressed how to deactivate or delete a profile, manage personal information, and share data with third parties. Additionally, the policy removes explicit language disclosing that 'Your interactions with AIs will be used to improve AI at Meta' and removes the direction to review Meta's AI terms. Users no longer have these FAQ resources in the policy document, though this change does not necessarily alter the underlying practices or rights; it only removes the documented guidance.

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August 8, 2026 low

Threads updated its Supplemental Privacy Policy in an update detected on August 8, 2026, restructuring the table of contents and FAQ section headers. The prior navigation included specific headings such …

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August 7, 2026 low

Threads updated its Supplemental Privacy Policy in an update detected on August 7, 2026, by restructuring its help article navigation and adding new support resources. The change reorganized FAQ section …

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July 30, 2026 low

Threads updated its Supplemental Privacy Policy navigation in an update detected on July 30, 2026. The policy replaced four help center navigation links with different topic headings: 'How do I …

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July 18, 2026 low

Threads reorganized its privacy policy table of contents in an update detected on July 18, 2026. The document replaced the section heading 'How is my information shared?' with 'How do …

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July 9, 2026 low

Threads updated its Supplemental Privacy Policy on July 9, 2026 with minor wording and structural changes. The policy changed the opening question from 'What information does Threads collect?' to 'What …

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July 5, 2026 low

Threads added four new section headers to their privacy policy on July 5, 2026: 'How is my information shared?', 'How do I delete my Threads profile?', 'What happens to my …

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June 29, 2026 low

Threads removed six sentences from its privacy policy on June 29, 2026, including navigation text asking 'How is my information shared?' and 'Manage my Threads information', along with language about …

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June 26, 2026 low

Threads updated its privacy policy footer on June 26, 2026, reorganizing the help and support links. The policy now includes a 'Related Articles' section listing topics like privacy settings, fediverse …

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June 18, 2026 low

Threads updated three section headings and one related label in its Supplemental Privacy Policy on June 18, 2026. The policy changed 'What information is collected?' to 'What information do you …

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June 16, 2026 low

Threads updated its privacy policy footer on June 16, 2026 to modify how users can access support resources. The previous language referenced 'Report a post or reel' and 'How to …

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June 5, 2026 low

Threads updated its privacy policy with three minor changes on June 5, 2026: the main policy heading changed from 'What information is public?' to 'What information is collected?', the navigation …

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June 4, 2026 low

Threads modified a single sentence in its privacy policy footer on June 4, 2026. The previous language 'How to reset my password?' was replaced with 'Other ways to get help …

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May 31, 2026 low

Threads updated its privacy policy on May 31, 2026 with three minor structural and navigational changes. The main section heading changed from 'What information is public?' to 'What information is …

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May 30, 2026 low

Threads updated its privacy policy document structure on May 30, 2026. The heading 'How is my data used?' was changed to 'How is my data shared?', and language describing how …

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May 29, 2026 low

Threads updated its privacy policy footer on May 29, 2026, replacing a reference to 'Report a post or reel' with 'Chat with Meta AI support assistant' and adding 'Other ways …

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May 29, 2026 low

Threads updated its privacy policy on May 29, 2026 with minor wording changes. The section heading changed from 'How is my data shared?' to 'How is my data used?', and …

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May 14, 2026 low

Threads updated its privacy policy on May 14, 2026 to clarify its relationship to Meta's broader terms and services. The updated language now explicitly states that Threads is part of …

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Featured, High severity

Post copies shared to follower third-party service Compare →

User content and personal information are transmitted to external services outside Threads whenever a Third Party User follows the account, without any additional action required from the user.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 288 platforms
Public profile interactions trigger data sharing Compare →

A routine interaction — a like or reply from a third-party user — triggers automatic data sharing with an external service, conditioned only on the user's profile being public.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 288 platforms
Shared data includes IP address and timestamp metadata Compare →

The scope of shared data extends beyond post content to potentially include network-identifying metadata like IP addresses, which can reveal a user's location or identity.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 288 platforms
Third-party service data outside Meta control Compare →

Meta explicitly disclaims control over user information after it is transmitted to Third Party Services, shifting governance of that data entirely to external parties whose terms the user may not have reviewed.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 287 platforms
Third-party user account and profile collection Compare →

Threads collects identifying information not only about the user but also about the third-party platform they use, including that platform's IP address.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 296 platforms
Threads activity data collection scope Compare →

The collection scope encompasses not just what users post but also passive behaviors such as viewing, interaction patterns, and associated metadata, enabling detailed behavioral profiling.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 296 platforms
Threads data used for ads and analytics Compare →

The explicit inclusion of advertising within business services confirms that user data collected on Threads is used to support ad-related purposes.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 279 platforms
Threads information used for personalization Compare →

The data use is not confined to Threads alone but extends to other Meta Products, and the governing purposes are defined by the broader Meta Privacy Policy rather than solely by Threads' own policy.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 279 platforms
Threads profile information collection obligation Compare →

Sign-up creates an immediate and explicit data collection obligation covering personal identifiers and behavioral configuration data.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 296 platforms
User directs Meta to deliver data to third-party services Compare →

Threads frames the data transfer to Third Party Services as a user-initiated direction rather than a Threads-initiated action, which may affect how responsibility for the transfer is allocated.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 288 platforms
Username and bio remain public regardless of profile setting Compare →

The private profile setting does not protect core identifying information, which remains publicly accessible regardless of that setting.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 273 platforms
Username and profile always public Compare →

These identifying details are permanently and unconditionally public, accessible even to individuals with no Meta account, with no user setting able to restrict access.

Added July 10, 2026 Standard Seen across 273 platforms