Meta, the company behind Instagram and Facebook, has launched a new social media platform called Threads. The app is designed to rival Twitter and was launched on the 6th of July 2023. The app is pitched as one that will do for text and dialogue what Instagram did for photos and video.
Threads has a simple black and white feed, with features that let you reply, love, quote and comment on other people’s “threads”. Posts on Threads can be 500 characters long, with the option to attach links, photos or videos up to five minutes long. Users can follow friends or public figures (celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian have already signed up) and like, re-post or reply to their posts.
Millions of people signed up for the app within hours of its launch, according to the company. That rush is helped by the fact that users log into a Threads account using their Instagram username and password, lending the new platform a built-in user base. Users can also import their Instagram followers list to Threads.
However, there are some differences between Threads and Twitter. Threads does not have hashtags and keyword search functions, nor a direct messaging function, a following feed or desktop version. Some of these features will be added, but “it will take time,” Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri wrote in a thread.
The launch of Threads comes at a time when Twitter has been facing a number of issues after the controversial takeover from entrepreneur Elon Musk. Competitors like Bluesky and Mastodon are among the new platforms to benefit from that drain, though Threads has an undeniable advantage.
The vision for Threads is to create an open and friendly public space for conversation. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Threads post following the launch, “We hope to take what Instagram does best and create a new experience around text, ideas, and discussing what’s on your mind” .