Meta Launches A New Social App ‘Threads’, Rival For Twitter

After initially revealing its plans for the app barely three months ago, Facebook-parent Meta on Wednesday formally launched Threads, its rival to Twitter. As of Thursday morning, 30 million people had downloaded Threads, according to the company, including a significant number of big businesses, celebrities, journalists, and other well-known users.

The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has a new app called Threads. The platform mirrors Twitter in that it features a stream of mostly text updates, while users may also upload photographs and videos and engage in real-time chats.

The tone of Thread’s initial users rushing to try out the app and publish their first posts on Wednesday night, felt almost like the first day of class. Some questioned whether the app may end up becoming the “Twitter killer.” The most popular free app in the Apple App Store as of Thursday morning was called Threads, and it was also the most popular trend on Twitter.

Threads may be a major danger to Twitter, which has come under fire ever since Elon Musk assumed control of the service in October 2022 and has operated it in a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants manner. But Twitter has just exposed itself, upsetting users over a temporary cap on the amount of content they may access each day. Additionally, Threads might help Meta grow its empire of well-known apps and give it a new ad-supported platform.

A 500-character limit will apply to messages posted to Threads, according to Meta. Users can respond to, repost, and quote other people’s posts on Threads, just as on Twitter. The app also allows users to share posts from Threads directly to Instagram Stories and integrates Instagram’s existing UI and functionality. Additionally, thread accounts may be labeled as private or public. Threads automatically verify verified Instagram accounts. Threads will be available in 100 countries and in more than 30 languages via Apple’s iOS and Android, according to the company.

Following the app launch, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Threads post “The vision for Threads is to create an option and friendly public space for conversation. We hope to take what Instagram does best and create a new experience around text, ideas, and discussing what’s on your mind.”

In the early hours of Threads’ release, some users did encounter a few bugs and problems loading material, but this is to be anticipated when millions of users are simultaneously logging in and utilizing the program.

Users sign up through their Instagram accounts and keep the same username, password, and account name, although they can edit their bio to be unique to Threads. Users can also import the list of accounts they follow directly from Instagram, making it super easy to get up and running on the app.

However, Thread comes with its own downside one o which is leaving Threads. Leaving  Threads is not nearly as simple. However, the company states in its privacy policy that “your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account.” Users can temporarily deactivate their accounts via the app’s settings section. According to the Apple App Store, several users have expressed worry over the volume of data that the Threads, like Instagram, can gather on users, including location, contacts, search history, browser history, contact information, and more.

In an effort to dethrone Twitter as the preferred tool for in-the-moment, public talks, Threads is just the most recent platform to be introduced. However, it might have the best chance of succeeding. Since Musk took over the social media network late last year, many Twitter users have expressed a desire for an alternative. Some notable Twitter users have left the service due to frequent technical problems and policy changes. Twitter has at least one major advantage over Meta: the magnitude of its current user base. With the new app, Meta hopes to attract and retain more than 2 billion active Instagram users worldwide. In comparison, there are roughly 250 million active users on Twitter.

Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino appeared to acknowledge the release of the competing app in a tweet on Thursday, calling Twitter “irreplaceable.”

Although for now there are no advertisements on the platform, Threads may eventually help make up for Meta’s primary advertising revenue. Although the format is unlikely to draw as much ad revenue as Meta’s other platforms, Meta’s ad business may use a lift after suffering difficulties from a general drop in the internet ad market and revisions to Apple’s app privacy policies.