Meta has rolled out the flexibility to confirm a hyperlink to your Threads profile on social media platforms like Mastodon, based on a Threads post from Instagram head Adam Mosseri. To be clear, this isn’t a free solution to get a blue checkmark subsequent to your Threads title; you’ll probably need to pay Meta to get one of those. As a substitute, this new function helps you show on different platforms {that a} Threads profile that you simply hyperlink to is one that you simply personal. However it additionally represents one thing greater: an precise Threads function from Meta that connects with decentralized social media.
I obtained this to work in only a few minutes on my Mastodon profile, that means {that a} URL to my Threads account now has a inexperienced checkmark. I’ll clarify how I obtained this arrange a bit later on this story, however for now, right here’s a screenshot of what it seems to be like:
Mosseri introduced the replace as a part of a thread about some other new features announced on Wednesday. “We’ve additionally rolled out Threads assist for rel=me hyperlinks that will help you confirm your id on platforms like Mastodon,” Mosseri stated. “Now you can add your Threads profile hyperlink on supported platforms to confirm your id.”
I’ll admit that I didn’t know what rel=me hyperlinks had been once I learn Mosseri’s submit, so I discovered a Mastodon assist web page that defined how they work. “In the event you put an HTTPS hyperlink in your profile metadata, Mastodon checks if that hyperlink resolves to an online web page that hyperlinks again to your Mastodon profile with a particular rel=me attribute,” according to the document. “If that’s the case, you get a verification checkmark subsequent to that hyperlink, since you’re confirmed because the proprietor.”
In case your eyes are glazing over studying all that, by no means worry: I discovered it was in the end fairly easy to make my Mastodon account present a verified checkmark for my Threads profile. Right here’s how I did it:
Mosseri has said that Meta plans to ultimately combine Threads with the decentralized ActivityPub protocol, and I’ve been skeptical about Meta following by way of. However now that the corporate rolled out this verification function that works on non-Threads platforms, I’m beginning to consider that we’ll truly see ActivityPub assist in Threads correct sometime.