Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has taken a significant stride toward supporting the fediverse by enabling the verification of Threads profiles on the Mastodon platform. This move marks a positive step for decentralization and interoperability within social media networks. Meta has announced the incorporation of support for “rel=me” links, which establishes a connection between two accounts by mutually pointing links to each other.
To successfully verify your Threads profile on Mastodon, follow these steps in the specified order:
- Add your Mastodon profile to your Threads profile.
- Incorporate your Threads profile link into one of the “Extra fields” in your Mastodon profile.
- Save the changes.
Upon successful verification, a green highlighted bar encompassing the Threads link, along with a checkmark, will likely appear on your Mastodon profile.
The verification process entails the Mastodon server pinging the Threads page to examine the presence of a “rel=me” web attribute. This verifies that the link within your Threads profile is indeed directed back to your Mastodon profile. However, this verification merely establishes your ownership of the specified Threads profile.
It’s important to note that while this verification method may not be functional for some Mastodon users, the Threads engineering team is actively investigating verification-related issues. Moreover, it is currently not possible to verify your Mastodon profile on Threads.
In addition to this update, Threads has introduced several other features, including the ability to send posts directly to Instagram DMs, the option to add customized alt text for images, and a convenient button for mentioning users in posts.
Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, acknowledged this update, highlighting it as a “meaningful step towards adopting open standards and the fediverse.” He further disclosed that an early version of Threads has been utilized internally, indicating the imminent arrival of a fully functional desktop version of the social network in the coming weeks.
While initial technical challenges prevented Threads from supporting the fediverse at launch, Mosseri assured users that Meta is fully committed to integrating ActivityPub support. This move echoes the surge in link verification services within the Mastodon community as individuals increasingly migrate to the fediverse for enhanced online experiences.
