With today's news that Meta's
moderation might be going down the drain (even more)¹, you might want to reconsider how you are connecting with Meta's content from Threads on the Fediverse

Threads (owned by Meta) connects
with some instances of Mastodon and the Fediverse since last year.²

While some instances have decided to block Threads entirely³, most have not (for various reasons).

Even if you are on an instance that
does not block Threads, and if you have no intention to move, you still have options to block Threads at the account level ️

There are 2 easy ways to do this on Mastodon from the web interface:

Option 1:

1. Find the profile of someone who is on Meta's Threads instance, click on the 3-dot "Menu" button on the upper right of their profile, select "Block domain threads.net"

(Mastodon mobile apps and other Fediverse software might have similar features)

Option 2:

2. Go to "Preferences" > "Import and export" and click on the "CSV" button right to "Domain blocks"

2.1. Download locally the file "blocked_domains.csv" and open it in a text software. You should see a list of the domains you have already blocked, or nothing if you have blocked none.

2.2. Add to the list the domain "threads.net" and save the file keeping it in ".csv".

2.3. Back to "Import and export" go to "Import". In "Import type" select "Domain blocking list". At the bottom right, select "Overwrite" if you have copied the whole list as instructed, or "Merge" if you have added the new domain in a separate file (which you can also do).

2.4. On the bottom left, click "Browse" and select your file. Click "Upload"

2.5. When prompted with a confirmation message, click "Confirm"

3. No more Meta! Magic!

You can follow these instructions to block or pre-block any other instances at the account level.

This will not isolate your data as well as an instance block from your instance's admin, but it will prevent you from seeing or directly interacting with any Threads post.

References:

¹ https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/meta-fact-checking-program-ends-1.7424631

² https://www.howtogeek.com/threads-now-connects-to-mastodon-and-other-fediverse-platforms/

³ https://fedipact.online

#TinyMastodonTip #Mastodon #Fediverse #Meta #Threads #Moderation

@Em0nM4stodon Thank you. Is there a way to prevent Meta/Threads from being able to view or interact with one's Masto account? (I'd assume an instance-level block would accomplish that. But what about at the individual level?)

Yep. I've got screenshots for both of these approaches in. https://privacy.thenexus.today/how-to-block-threads-on-mastodon/#from-profile

@Em0nM4stodon

Yes, Em's instructions will work for individual accounts. I've got more details and talk about about the limitations of this approach in https://privacy.thenexus.today/how-to-block-threads-on-mastodon/#from-profile

@fembot @Em0nM4stodon

@thenexusofprivacy @fembot @Em0nM4stodon Your site isn't resolving for me.

@thenexusofprivacy Fantastic!!

@phillycodehound thanks for letting me know ... I think it might have been a transient error. How about now?

@thenexusofprivacy @Em0nM4stodon
Thanks, yes, I've read through this.

(My understanding is that "authorized fetch" at the instance level gets you closest to the goal of preventing Threads from viewing or interacting with one's Masto/Fedi account. And there are enough holes built into the process that no matter what we do Meta/Threads can still circumvent the settings and the process. Please correct if I've got that wrong! TY)

You're correct that "authorized fetch" is hugely important ... and that even with that enabled there are holes. Being on an instance that blocks Threads provides somewhat more protection than just blocking individually.

In terms of preventing information getting to Meta, local-only posts (on instances which have them) and followers-only post (as long as you don't have any followers on Threads) are the strongest protections.

@fembot @Em0nM4stodon

@thenexusofprivacy @Em0nM4stodon
TYSM, really helpful.

My pleasure. It's really confusing!

@fembot @Em0nM4stodon

@thenexusofprivacy @fembot @Em0nM4stodon and those are very wise choices for folks who are on fedi for their own ends

some of us are here to try to be effective communicators (eg. this account is for communicate covid research and analysis)

as public speakers we are inherently vulnerable to scraping, which can only be addressed top-down

maybe I'm misreading, are you saying that even with authorized fetch and an instance that blocks Threads, we need local- or followers-only to keep Meta's nose out of our business?

that is unfortunately not really an option for some use cases (hi)

advice welcome

It's a dilemma -- you're quite right that there's a tradeoff between reach and privacy. Personally, I have multiple accounts; this one for example tries to reach as wide an audience as possible, so it's on an instance that federates with Meta (and most of my posts are public) ... and I've also got a personal account on an instance that doesn't federate which i use for stuff where the goal isn't to get wide visibility (and most of the posts are unlisted, local-only, or followers-only).

are you saying that even with authorized fetch and an instance that blocks Threads, we need local- or followers-only to keep Meta's nose out of our business

Even with authorized fetch and an instance that blocks Threads, there are some potential paths of information flowing to Meta indirectly -- for example replies from an account on an instance that doesn't block Meta can reveal your account name (and perhaps some additional information depending on what they say in their reply). Local-only posts can reduce the risk of that, as well as scraping. As to how much it matters relative to other risks ... hard to know.

@datum @fembot @Em0nM4stodon