There’s a new kid on the social media block and this time it’s the brainchild of Meta, the company that owns Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook. Say hello to Threads, Meta’s ‘text-based conversation app’, which is said to share similarities with Twitter.
Threads, which is being dubbed a ‘Twitter Killer’, owing to its similarities to the Elon Musk-owned app, will be linked to Meta’s other site Instagram and will launch tomorrow, enabling Instagram users to transfer their followings to the new app.
Meta’s plan for Threads was teased in June 2023, when the company’s product officer Chris Cox described it as their ‘response to Twitter.’
He continued: ‘We’ve been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run.’
The imminent launch of Threads comes at an increasingly fractious time in the Twittersphere. Since Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion (£35.7 billion) in October 2022, the app has been embroiled in a number of controversies. Most recently, the Tesla and SpaceX boss imposed a limit on the amount of Tweets unverified accounts can view a day (600 compared to 6,000 for Twitter Blue members), and announced that Tweetdeck (a dashboard that allows you to view multiple timelines in one place) would soon only be available only to paying users.
Musk, who earlier this year appointed Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s CEO, said the ‘temporary emergency measure’ had been imposed to prevent data scraping.
It’s understood that Meta bosses have been following the fallout at Twitter to decipher when the right time to launch Threads would be.
But what exactly do we need to know about the new 'Twitter Killer' app? This is everything you need to know before its launch.
What is Threads?
A promotional preview for the app shared that Threads will be a place ‘where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow’.
It added: ‘Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favourite creators and others who love the same things — or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world.’
When is Threads being launched?
Threads was debuted on the Apple app store on Tuesday in a trial run, and is expected to launch on Thursday 6 July 2023.
For those who are especially keen on becoming a 'Threader', the free app can be pre-ordered now and will become available to use upon its official launch tomorrow.
What has the reaction been so far to Threads?
According to a report from The Verge, Cox said that Meta had been ‘hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run,’ but Twitter’s co-founder Jack Dorsey, who’s responsible for the creation of new app, Bluesky, has raised the alarm surrounding privacy concerns on a Meta-owned app.
Commenting on Dorsey's post, ex-UK Gov digital comms advisor and head of social media Matt Navarra responded, ‘Yet people would rather use that app than have to stick with Elons Twitter.’
Another Twitter user hailed the creation of Threads as 'Twitter but built with the high-craft of Instagram.'
Threads will be available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play from Thursday, 6 July.
