This week, Threads by Instagram introduced a novel capability: “ghost posts,” which disappear after 24 hours. The online community is uncertain about how to respond to this.

Ghost posts aren’t completely unprecedented. Vanishing messages were integral to Snapchat’s rise to prominence ten years ago. Users often post and remove content on platforms like X, Threads, or Bluesky. Nevertheless, the automatic saving of text-based posts is somewhat distinctive, resulting in varied responses across the internet.

Personally, I don’t perceive any problem with Meta’s latest ghost posts. At worst, it may not gain popularity. However, I can foresee several uses. For example, if you’re following a sports event and wish to share your thoughts in real time without overloading your timeline with out-of-context reactions, ghost posts would be perfect.

They could also prove beneficial for expressing a hot take you prefer not to keep permanently. After all, hot takes are fundamental to text-based social media platforms.

The online community is still weighing in on ghost posts, but don’t be astonished if other platforms eventually embrace this feature.