After struggling with real-time trends, Threads tests a 'recent' filter for search results

Meta-owned social network Threads is finally testing a “Recent” filter to sort search results based on the most recent posts. Instagram head Adam Mosseri noted on Monday that the rollout is part of a “limited test,” and the feature has been made available to only a few users.

“We’re starting to test this with a small number of people, so it’s easier to find relevant search results in real-time,” he said in a reply to a user.

Threads has not yet successfully cloned X’s real-time nature, even though it’s attempting to woo former Twitter users to its platform by offering similar features, like text-focused posts, bookmarks, reposts, quote posts, and more. However, Meta has deprioritized political speech — a popular topic on X — saying it wouldn’t recommend that content to users. In addition, its For You feed includes days-old posts, at times. When news breaks, Threads can feel far behind. For example, when the NYC/NJ earthquake hit, it took half a day or so to hit the app’s trending section.

A user in the new test said they could see “Top” and “Recent” filters on the search results screen. They noted that the “Recent” filter isn’t strictly chronological, but it’s better suited than the “Top” filter for seeing new posts.

Earlier this year, Threads accidentally rolled out the option to sort search results by recency. At that time, the company said it was an “internal prototype available for a small number of people.”

Last November, Mosseri cautioned that Threads lacked the feature to search for real-time results because it could create a “safety loophole.”

“To clarify, having a comprehensive list of *every* post with a specific word in chronological order inevitably means spammers and other bad actors pummel the view with content by simply adding the relevant words or tags. And before you ask why we don’t take down that bad content, understand there’s a lot more content that people don’t want to see than we can or should take down,” Mosseri said then.

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Additional reporting: Sarah Perez