Threads profiles can’t be deleted without removing your entire Instagram account

Threads, Meta’s just-launched Twitter competitor, uses Instagram’s account system. That has the benefit of letting you bring over your Instagram username when you join the app. But it also ties the apps together in such a way that means you can’t delete your Threads account without deleting your Instagram one, which people may not want to do if they’ve been posting on Instagram proper for years.

Based on Mosseri’s message, it sounds like the company is considering a way for you to do that in the future. But the feature isn’t here yet, and Mosseri didn’t give a timeline for when we might eventually see it.

However, as Mosseri notes, you can hide your Threads profile and content by deactivating your Threads account. To do that, go to your profile tab, tap the two lines icon for settings, tap “Account,” tap “Deactivate profile,” and then the “Deactivate Threads profile” button. That said, deactivating a Threads profile is a temporary action; although deactivating your Threads profile hides your profile, threads, replies, and likes, your account will be reactivated if you log back in, according to an Instagram support page. You can also delete individual posts or take your account private, Mosseri notes.

Instagram launched Threads on Wednesday on iOS and Android, and more than 30 million people have already signed up for the app, according to Mark Zuckerberg. However, the company seems to have pushed the app out the door as soon as it could to capitalize on the chaos over at Twitter, and it’s missing major features like DMs, a following feed, and even hashtags. In a separate post, Mosseri says that many of the “basics” are on the way but cautions that the improvements will “take time.”