United States, 28 October 2025 – Meta Platforms has launched a new feature called “ghost posts” on its Threads app, allowing users to create posts that automatically disappear after 24 hours.
With ghost posts enabled, content is briefly visible in the main feed but then archived at the end of the 24-hour window. These posts are visually distinguished in the feed by a dotted-line chat-bubble icon. Users can activate the feature by tapping a ghost-icon toggle when composing a post.
One notable difference from regular posts: replies to ghost posts do not appear publicly. Instead, they are directed to the creator’s inbox and are not visible as likes or comments in the public feed. Meta describes the feature as enabling “unfiltered thoughts and fresh takes without the pressure of permanence or polish.”
Why It Matters for Asia-Pacific & Digital Platforms
- For social-media platforms in Asia exploring deeper user engagement, the ghost-post format signals a shift toward ephemeral content even in text-oriented feeds, not just photo/video Stories.
- Brands and media companies in Asia may need to adapt: ephemeral posts may be less about long-lived content and more about immediacy, spontaneous engagement and real-time reaction.
- For advertisers targeting Southeast Asian markets, this change might affect campaign lifecycles and content-planning strategies, shorter-life-content may require faster creative turnaround and different performance measurement.
- Privacy & moderation implications: because ghost posts are short-lived and replies are private, there’s a changed dynamic in how moderation, sentiment tracking and community management work in regional markets.
Things to Watch
- Adoption rate: While Meta reported Threads has some hundreds of millions of users, tracking how many switch to ghost posts and how frequently they use them will indicate real traction.
- Creator behaviour: Will users shift from “permanent post mindset” to a more casual, ephemeral mode? Will there be new content genres tied to ghost posts?
- Monetisation: Ephemeral posts may be less brand-safe or long-lasting, which could pose challenges for advertisers and monetisation models in Asia, where digital ad budgets are growing.
- Regional moderation & data retention: Disappearing posts may pose regulatory & moderation complexities in jurisdictions such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore where data-retention laws and online content rules are evolving.
