Meta Officially Launches ‘Threads’ App To Challenge Twitter Head-On

With Twitter recently limiting the number of posts users can view per day, many users on the social media app have been looking for alternatives rather than giving in and paying for Elon Musk’s ‘Blue’ subscription.

Coincidentally (or not), Meta recently announced the official launch of its text-based platform, Threads, which is now open to the public. The new service will be available to users worldwide, though those in the European Union will have to wait till regulatory concerns are ironed out.

Those with an Instagram account can carry their usernames and verifications over to Threads, choose to follow the same people as in the former, or look for others who share the same interests.

Similar to Twitter, the feed on Threads will include posts by people users follow as well as recommended content from other characters. Each post can be up to 500 characters long, with the option to include links, pictures, and videos up to five minutes long.

According to Meta, all users under the age of 16 (or 18 in certain countries) will have their profiles set private by default upon joining the site. Going forward, the platform will also be made compatible with other open-source networks such as Mastodon.

“Our plan is to work with ActivityPub to provide you the option to stop using Threads and transfer your content to another service,” the company explained in a blog post.

“Our vision is that people using compatible apps will be able to follow and interact with people on Threads without having a Threads account, and vice versa, ushering in a new era of diverse and interconnected networks.”

Will Threads manage to challenge Twitter head-on? It remains to be seen, but as per Zuckerberg, there ought to be a public conversations application that can accommodate over a billion people at once.

“Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully, we will,” he remarked.

[via Engadget and The Guardian, images via Meta]