First major Threads update adds some highly desired features

Meta has made its first major update to Instagram's Threads app, adding a number of essential elements to the Twitter competitor.

Occurring almost two weeks after the launch of the app, the first update of Threads has started to roll out to users. Following feedback from users, the first update includes a few highly requested features, which should make using the app much easier.

A list of updates published by Meta's Cameron Roth on Threads itself starts the list off with the inclusion of translations of posts, with users also set to see a new Follows tab on their activity feed. Changes are also made to improve activity feed scrolling and loading.

Users will also be able to subscribe to unfollowed users, see following accounts on thread replies pages, and be able to tap reposter labels. It will also be possible to open the Instagram followers list within the app.

Along with feature changes, the app is being made more stable, with a "few small crash fixes" included alongside "a handful of other small bugs." The app itself is also being more lightweight with binary size cuts, meaning it should take up less storage on an iPhone.

While the update is available to download from the App Store, users are warned they may have to restart their app too in order to see the changes, and may have to wait until the end of Tuesday to see them. "We use a system of server-delivered flags which can take awhile to fully release," writes Roth.

Threads saw massive success from launch, with more than 100 million accounts active on the service in its first week. Since launch, it has also blocked EU users from accessing the app via VPNs while Facebook deals with European privacy rules.

Twitter took the launch of Threads poorly, with Twitter threatening to sue Meta over the apparent stealing of trade secrets.