Meta wants to spotlight great conversations on Threads without relying purely on massive follower counts or viral memes. The social media giant recently started testing a new Threads feature called Gems, which uses automated systems to find and badge public posts and replies that start interesting discussions.
Currently live for users in the United States, the system picks standout posts once a day across different topics. When your post or direct reply gets awarded a Gem, Threads sends you a notification with an option to share a quick update celebrating the badge. A tiny Gem icon will then appear next to your content for everyone on the platform to see.
How Meta decides which posts get a Gem
Instead of using human team members to read through millions of posts, Meta built an automated algorithm to score content based on three main qualities: original thinking, a fresh perspective, and genuine back-and-forth conversation among users.
The feature also comes with a few strict boundaries. To earn a Gem, your content must be posted directly on Threads from a public account belonging to someone aged 18 or older. Reposts, content shared automatically from apps like Instagram, and replies to existing comments are completely out of the running. If you earn a Gem but prefer keeping your feed simple, you can easily hide the icon using the three-dot menu on your post.
Giving smaller accounts a fair shot at visibility
By focusing on real discussion rather than profile size, Gems gives smaller creators a solid chance to get noticed based on the quality of their ideas. Meta made it clear that missing out on a Gem won’t hurt your profile’s overall reach or algorithm ranking.
App researcher Alessandro Paluzzi first spotted early designs for the feature back in August, showing that Meta has been working on this reward system for a while. As social feeds get noisier, rewarding native text posts that actually build community feels like a smart move for Threads.
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