Topic search will finally be usable with the rollout of the “recents” tab.

Threads is getting closer to becoming a really useful source for real-time news and updates. The app is finally introducing the ability to search for posts by recency, following last month’s feature.

“In an effort to make it easier to find timely, relevant content on Threads, we’re introducing a Recents tab for your searches,” wrote Instagram’s Adam Mosseri on . “Search results here are still being evaluated for quality, but you can now view them in chronological order.”

The change has long been requested by users who hope Meta’s app will one day be a source of breaking news and real-time information the way Twitter has functioned in the past. The ability to search for topics and keywords and find the latest results is key to finding up-to-date details and commentary on breaking news, sports and anything else happening in real time.

On the other hand, Meta also made it clear that she would prefer that “news” not be what Threads is known for. Mosseri said he doesn’t want to “encourage” bad news on Threads and the company’s active political content. Threads’ default “for you” algorithm is also notorious for bringing up posts from days ago, random personal stories, and other content that isn’t exactly timely.

It’s also worth noting that the new Threads search recency filter is not the same as X’s “latest” search filter. As Mosseri noted in his post, Meta is still hiding an unknown number of posts in search results , which have been “quality rated” so your search for themes will never float everything from posts containing your search terms. But being able to at least find posts that aren’t a few days old should make the search for timely information much less frustrating.