Threads has introduced a new feature that allows users to share text posts of up to 10,000 characters.
Meta announced its new ‘text attachment’ feature on 4 September, citing user behaviour as the main driver behind its rollout as the company noticed more users sharing screenshots of longer content, articles, newsletters, and podcast transcripts.
A character limit of 10,000 gives users significantly more freedom to express themselves than the previous 500-character limit and is equivalent to about 1,600-2,000 words. In comparison, Threads’ rival platforms have character limits of 300 (Bluesky) and 280 (X).
In addition to the high character limit, Threads will also allow users to include external links that direct readers to other platforms. Rachel Karten, social media consultant and author of the Link in Bio Substack, wrote on LinkedIn that this will likely have an impact on news and media organisations and that it ‘seems like a potentially smart way to hook readers and encourage a click’.
But it is not just news and media organisations that stand to gain from Threads’ new feature; brands can also benefit from the text attachment feature.
The introduction of the new format has led some industry observers to speculate whether Threads is transforming into a publishing platform or if it is trying to compete with Substack following its recent surge in subscribers.
Earlier this year, MediaCat reported that Substack surpassed 5 million paid subscribers and that brands are strategically using it to convert readers into customers by sponsoring existing Substackers or launching branded Substacks where they can focus on storytelling rather than selling.
If Threads is indeed positioning itself as a long-form publishing space like Substack, brands may find an opportunity to move beyond short-form promotion and lean into storytelling that drives deeper engagement.
Featured image: Julio Lopez / Unsplash
