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UPDATE: Oct. 30, 2025, 5:32 p.m. Meta confirmed to Mashable that Threads ghost posts appeared in net searches after the 24-hour expiration interval and that the difficulty had been fastened as of Oct. 30.
“We discovered a bug that permit expired ghost posts seem in net searches,” mentioned Meta spokesperson Jocelyn Jones. “We have fastened the difficulty, and ghost posts are again to resting in peace the place they belong: solely the unique poster can see them of their archive. We apologize for the scare.”
Watch out what you “ghost put up” on Threads as a result of it would truly stay on ceaselessly.
It seems that at the very least some ghost posts — the brand new Threads function Meta launched this week that routinely deletes posts after 24 hours — are being scraped by Google, making them searchable. Whereas writing in regards to the web’s response to the function, I examined this by plugging textual content from a number of screengrabbed ghost posts into Google Search. In a number of instances, I used to be capable of finding cached variations of these posts nonetheless showing in search outcomes.
Right here’s a screenshot displaying the textual content from Mark Zuckerberg’s personal ghost put up saying the function.
Credit score: Screenshot: Google
This is one other screenshot of a Google consequence for what seems to be a ghost put up from the Threads account @hello.nixson.
Mashable Mild Pace
Credit score: Screenshot: Google
This is a Bluesky put up, included in my preliminary article in regards to the web’s response, that reveals screenshots of these unique ghost posts.
This is a put up on X, additionally included in my unique story, that includes a screenshot of a ghost put up from journalist Ben Werdmuller about Meta’s alleged historical past in Myanmar.
This Tweet is presently unavailable. It is perhaps loading or has been eliminated.
Here’s a screenshot of that put up, which seems to be archived in Google outcomes.
Credit score: Screenshot: Google
Whenever you attempt to click on on any of those Threads posts, nonetheless, you’re met with a largely clean web page and an error message that reads, “Sorry, one thing went fallacious. Strive once more.” That tracks, because the posts themselves routinely disappear from Threads after 24 hours.
To be clear, not each ghost put up seems to have been scraped. I examined textual content from a number of screenshots shared on launch day, and whereas some confirmed up in Google Search outcomes, others didn’t.
After all, nobody ought to anticipate a ghost put up — or any put up, for that matter — to actually vanish. Screenshots exist, in any case. When you say one thing offensive, controversial, or simply plain spicy on-line, it is secure to imagine it’s going to stay ceaselessly someplace.
Nonetheless, it’s shocking to see that Threads’ “disappearing” posts would possibly linger on Google, even after they’ve technically been deleted.
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