Facebook Inc. is developing a new messaging feature dubbed “Threads” for Instagram that supposedly promotes constant, intimate sharing between users according to an unconfirmed report from The Verge.

In an age where users are sometimes deeply concerned about data sharing — vocally but not always in practice — Threads is said to include the ability to share the location, speed and battery life of users automatically with their friends. That’s in addition to text, photo and video messaging.

“Opt-in to automatic sharing and Threads will regularly update your status, giving your friends a real-time view of information about your location, speed and more,” The Verge report said. “At the moment, Threads does not display your real-time location — instead, it might say something like a friend is ‘on the move,’ according to sources familiar with the matter.”

Facebook Messenger already has a slightly less Orwellian feature built-in, the ability to share location in real time to another person in Messenger for up to 60 minutes at a time. That option is strictly opt-in and requires some effort to use it, whereas the Threads, at least according to the report, may make it a key feature.

That Facebook is looking to expand Instagram’s functionality doesn’t come as a surprise. At one point it appeared that Instagram was set to overtake parent company Facebook itself in popularity, but it has settled on a user base of about 1 billion active users a month. Facebook itself, by comparison, had 2.375 billion active users in July.

Extremely popular among users between 18 and 34 years old, Instagram has continued to deliver for Facebook and was valued at $100 billion as of July last year. Facebook acquired the photo-sharing app in 2012 for $1 billion.

Much of Instagram’s rise in popularity has been, arguably, copying the features of other services, primarily Snapchat. As 9to5Mac noted, “much like many of Facebook’s latest efforts, Threads seems like a direct attempt to compete with Snapchat – which remains popular among certain segments of the market.”

The time frame on when Threads may be launch is unknown, but with Facebook constantly paranoid about maintaining users across its multiple apps, it may be sooner than later.

Photo: Pixabay