Meta's Threads is taking a significant step forward in its custom feeds feature, allowing users to set their curated feeds to be public and shareable with others. This move comes as the platform faces increasing competition from Bluesky, a social network that has gained popularity with its own custom feed feature.

In a bid to stay ahead of the competition, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that users can now make their custom feeds public, enabling others to discover and follow them. This update is designed to further challenge Bluesky, which has been gaining traction with its own custom feed feature that allows users to personalize their experience on the platform.

Threads' custom feeds were initially introduced last November, shortly after Zuckerberg announced that the feature was being tested. The move was seen as a direct response to Bluesky's growing popularity, particularly among users who were leaving X for a more personalized social media experience. Since its launch, Threads users have created custom feeds around a wide range of topics, including sports, books, art, and more.

One of the key advantages of Threads' custom feeds is that they can be built without requiring technical skills. Users can create a custom feed by searching for a topic, tapping on the three-dot menu, and choosing "Create New Feed." They can also customize feeds by adding specific user profiles to a given feed. To make a feed public, users can tap and hold the feed, then tap "Edit Feeds" and toggle the feed to "Public."

Once a feed is made public, users can share it with others through a link or direct message. This feature is expected to increase engagement and discovery on the platform, as users can now share their curated content with a wider audience. Threads is also allowing users to share a preview of their custom feed, making it easier for others to discover and follow their content.

While Threads' custom feeds are mainly focused on interests, Bluesky's custom feeds offer more flexibility, allowing users to create feeds that focus on trending topics, catching up on missed content, or filtering content by type, such as video. This difference in approach may impact how users interact with custom feeds on both platforms.

The battle for custom feed supremacy is likely to continue, with both Meta and Bluesky vying for user attention. As the social media landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these features impact user engagement and retention on both platforms.

In the broader context, the focus on custom feeds highlights the growing importance of personalization in social media. As users increasingly crave more tailored experiences, platforms that can deliver on this promise are likely to gain a competitive edge. With Meta and Bluesky leading the charge, it will be fascinating to see how other social media platforms respond to this trend.