Editorial Notice: This article is based on Meta’s official Newsroom announcements for Threads, cross-checked against later reporting from 9to5Mac, CNBC, and Thurrott to confirm current availability. Every feature detail is sourced directly from Meta’s own posts; the availability status has been independently verified as of the most recent coverage available.
📅 Published: September 6, 2026
Threads Dear Algo: A Surprising New Way to Control Your Feed
Ever posted something on Threads and then immediately regretted how permanent it felt? Or scrolled past the fortieth post about a TV show you’re nowhere close to finishing, wishing you could just tell the app to knock it off? Meta has now shipped a fix for both of those exact annoyances — and the more interesting of the two, Threads Dear Algo, actually lets you talk to the algorithm in plain English.
Between October 2025 and February 2026, Meta quietly rolled out two features that change how Threads feels day to day: Ghost Posts, which let your thoughts disappear after 24 hours, and Threads Dear Algo, an AI-powered tool that reshapes your feed based on a single sentence you type. Neither got the fanfare of a major redesign, but together they say a lot about where Meta wants Threads to go — less permanent, more responsive, and a little less algorithm-knows-best.
Here’s exactly what each feature does, how to use it, and what it tells us about Meta’s plans for Threads going into the rest of 2026.
📋 Table of Contents
- What Is Dear Algo?
- How to Actually Use Dear Algo
- What Are Ghost Posts on Threads?
- Dear Algo vs. Ghost Posts: How They’re Different
- Why Meta Is Building Threads This Way
- Availability: Where You Can Use These Features
- Conclusion
- FAQs
What Is Threads Dear Algo? {#dear-algo}
Meta introduced Threads Dear Algo on February 11, 2026, describing it as an AI-powered feature that gives users direct control over what shows up in their feed by letting them state a preference in plain language. Instead of digging through settings menus or endlessly hiding posts one at a time, Threads Dear Algo lets a person simply say what they want more or less of, and the feed adjusts accordingly.
Meta frames Threads Dear Algo as a response to how quickly personal interest can shift — wanting more posts during a live NBA game one evening, then wanting to see nothing about a TV show you haven’t finished the next. Threads Dear Algo is built for exactly that kind of short-term, situational control, rather than a permanent change to how the algorithm treats your account.
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How to Actually Use Threads Dear Algo {#how-to-use}
Using Threads Dear Algo doesn’t require opening a settings menu at all. According to Meta, the whole interaction happens inside a public post: you type the words “Dear Algo,” followed by what you want to see more or less of. Meta’s own example is straightforward — typing “Dear algo, show me more posts about podcasts” tells the feed to prioritize podcast-related content going forward.
Once that Dear Algo request is posted, Meta says the feed adjustment lasts for three days before reverting to normal, treating it as a temporary boost rather than a lasting change to your interests. There’s also a social layer built into Threads Dear Algo: you can repost someone else’s Dear Algo request, which applies their stated content preference to your own feed too, letting people borrow each other’s feed tweaks rather than typing out a fresh one every time.
What Are Ghost Posts on Threads? {#ghost-posts}
Several months before Dear Algo shipped, Meta launched Ghost Posts on October 27, 2025 — a much simpler idea aimed at a different problem entirely. A Ghost Post is a normal Threads post that automatically archives itself 24 hours after you publish it, meant for sharing an unfiltered thought without it hanging around your profile forever.
Meta built a few specific mechanics around Ghost Posts that are worth knowing before you use one. Replies to a Ghost Post don’t show up publicly under the post the way normal replies do — instead, they land directly in your messaging inbox. And only the person who made the Ghost Post can see who liked or replied to it, which is a deliberate privacy choice that separates Ghost Posts from Threads’ usual public-by-default posting style. Turning a normal post into a Ghost Post is a single toggle on the ghost icon at posting time, according to Meta.
Ghost Posts arrived alongside a run of other Threads updates Meta had already shipped that year — including text attachments in September 2025 that allow up to 10,000 characters for longer posts or article excerpts, and a spoiler-hiding tool for posts containing plot details, introduced earlier in the summer of 2025.
Dear Algo vs. Ghost Posts: How They’re Different {#comparison}
It’s easy to lump these together since both came out of Threads within a few months of each other, but they solve completely different problems. Here’s the side-by-side.
| Threads Dear Algo | Ghost Posts | |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | February 11, 2026 | October 27, 2025 |
| What it controls | What content appears in your feed | How long your own post stays visible |
| How you use it | Type “Dear Algo” + a preference in a public post | Toggle the ghost icon before posting |
| Duration of effect | 3 days, then reverts | Post auto-archives after 24 hours |
| Powered by AI | Yes, per Meta | No |
| Availability | US, New Zealand, Australia, UK (more countries planned) | Not region-limited per Meta’s announcement |
Threads Dear Algo is about shaping what you consume; Ghost Posts are about controlling what you put out into the world and for how long. One is a feed-curation tool, the other is closer to a privacy and permanence setting.
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Why Meta Is Building Threads This Way {#why-it-matters}
Looking at Threads Dear Algo and Ghost Posts together, a pattern shows up: Meta keeps giving Threads users short-term, low-commitment ways to interact with the platform, rather than permanent settings changes. Meta’s own language around Dear Algo describes wanting the feed to “feel more personal,” while its framing of Ghost Posts is about letting people post “without the pressure of permanence or polish.”
That’s a notable shift for a platform that, like most social apps, has historically leaned on permanent posts and algorithmically fixed feeds. Dear Algo in particular signals that Meta sees conversational, plain-language control — rather than settings toggles — as the direction its feed personalization is heading, especially as AI features become more common across Meta’s other apps too.
Availability: Where You Can Use These Features {#availability}
Here’s the part worth double-checking before you go looking for Threads Dear Algo in your app: as of the most recent reporting, it is still not worldwide. Meta launched Threads Dear Algo on February 11, 2026 in just four countries — the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom — and as late as August 2026, tech coverage out of Taiwan and mainland China was still describing it as live in those same four countries, with Meta saying only that it “plans to expand to more countries” without giving a timeline.
There has been one real development since Threads Dear Algo first launched, though: in June 2026, alongside Threads crossing 500 million monthly active users, Meta introduced a companion feature called Your Algo. Where Threads Dear Algo works through a public post everyone can see and repost, Your Algo lets you privately tell Threads what you want to see more or less of, and lets you choose how long the preference lasts — one, three, or seven days — instead of being locked into three days by default. Meta says both tools can now be managed from one unified hub inside the app. Your Algo rolled out to the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — the same core group as Threads Dear Algo, plus Canada.
So the honest, current answer is: Threads Dear Algo has not gone global. It’s grown from its original four-country test into a slightly wider five-country footprint once you count Your Algo, but Meta has still not committed to a broader international rollout date. If you’re outside the US, UK, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, neither Dear Algo nor Your Algo showing up in your app is expected behavior, not a bug on your end.
Ghost Posts, by contrast, weren’t announced with any region restriction in Meta’s original post, suggesting a wider rollout from the start.
Conclusion {#conclusion}
Threads Dear Algo and Ghost Posts don’t look like much on their own — one is a feed filter, the other an auto-archiving toggle — but together they show Meta treating Threads less like a permanent record and more like a space for the moment. Dear Algo, in particular, points toward where Meta wants feed control to go: instead of navigating settings menus, you just tell the algorithm what you want, in your own words, for a few days at a time.
It’s worth repeating, though, that months after launch, Threads Dear Algo — and its newer companion, Your Algo — are still confined to a handful of countries rather than available everywhere. If you’re in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, it’s worth trying the next time your feed feels off; everyone else will need to wait for Meta’s next expansion announcement.
📖 About the Author
Waqar Ahmad is a tech and digital lifestyle writer with over 6 years of experience covering mobile apps, communication platforms, and internet infrastructure. He writes to make new app features understandable for everyday readers.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions {#faqs}
1. What exactly is Threads Dear Algo? Dear Algo is an AI-powered feature Meta launched on Threads on February 11, 2026, that lets users tell the app what topics they want to see more or less of by typing “Dear Algo” followed by a preference in a public post.
2. How long does a Threads Dear Algo request last? According to Meta, a Threads Dear Algo request adjusts your feed for three days before it reverts to normal. It’s designed as a temporary boost, not a permanent setting change.
3. Can I use someone else’s Dear Algo request? Yes. Meta says you can repost another user’s Dear Algo post, and doing so applies their stated content preference to your own feed as well.
4. Is Threads Dear Algo available worldwide yet? No. As of the most recent reporting, Threads Dear Algo is still limited to the US, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK — the same four countries it launched in back in February 2026. Meta has said it wants to expand further but hasn’t given a date, so it has not gone global despite being live for several months.
5. What is Your Algo, and how is it different from Dear Algo? Your Algo is a companion feature Meta introduced in June 2026. Unlike Threads Dear Algo, which works through a public post anyone can see and repost, Your Algo lets you privately tell Threads what you want more or less of, and choose whether the change lasts one, three, or seven days. It rolled out to the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — the original four Dear Algo countries plus Canada.
6. What are Ghost Posts, and are they related to Dear Algo? Ghost Posts are a separate Threads feature, launched in October 2025, that automatically archive a post 24 hours after you publish it. They’re not connected to Dear Algo functionally — one manages your feed, the other manages how long your own posts stick around — but both reflect Meta’s push toward more temporary, situational features on Threads.
7. Do replies to a Ghost Post show up publicly? No. Meta says replies to a Ghost Post are sent to your messaging inbox instead of appearing publicly, and only the person who made the post can see who liked or replied to it.
