The Threads app, owned by Instagram owner Meta, may draw Twitter users dissatisfied with recent changes to the network, according to analysts.
Over a hundred nations, including the UK, now offer the app for download; however, due to regulatory concerns, the European Union is still unable to do so.
There are numerous features that are comparable to those on Twitter, and users can compose posts with up to 500 characters.
Rivals, though, have criticized the volume of data that it might gather.
The new software is referred to as a “initial version” by Meta, and future updates will provide more functionality including the ability to communicate with users of other social media platforms like Mastodon.
The company claims that its goal with Threads is to extend what Instagram does best to text.
Despite being an independent software, Threads requires users to sign in with their Instagram account. Their Instagram username will remain the same, but they have the choice to modify their Threads profile.
According to Meta, users can decide to follow the same accounts they do on Instagram.
It is not yet known, though, whether disgruntled Twitter users will want to switch to the Meta-run platform.
The site was monitored poorly, according to Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen, who claimed that the firm had put “profits over safety” last year.
The company was also rocked by a controversy in which it gave third parties access to Facebook user data, notably the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.
Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, made light of this contentious past on Monday, saying, “Thank goodness they’re so sanely run.”
There are also additional Twitter alternatives, like Bluesky and Mastodon.
Due to its connection to Instagram and the hundreds of millions of users who currently utilize that platform, Threads has a major edge.
How does Threads function?
According to Threads, posts may “easily” be shared across the two applications and can contain links, images, and five-minute movies.
A feed of posts—what Meta refers to as “threads”—from people they follow and suggested content will be available to users.
They will be able to restrict who is allowed to “mention” them and block comments that contain certain words.
Other profiles will also be able to be unfollowed, blocked, restricted, or reported, and any accounts users block on Instagram will also be barred on Threads.
However, while Meta emphasizes the connection to Instagram, media attention has centered on the app’s resemblance to Twitter, with some calling it a “Twitter killer.”
Meta claims that it draws “inspiration” from other items, however others may not agree. Reels on Instagram and Facebook’s Stories feature are eerily similar to TikTok and Snapchat, respectively.
According to Drew Benvie, CEO of social media consultancy Battenhall, Threads resembled Twitter a lot. “The most obvious is that it’s text-first, so users will be able to add photos and comment on each other’s posts,” Benvie told BBC News.
“The post appears to be about the same length as a tweet,” the author said. Like Twitter, in that sense.
Many critics have suggested that the app’s release coincides with changes at Twitter and that this is not an accident.
The appearance of Threads at launch IMAGE SOURCE,META
Image caption: Links, pictures, and videos can “easily” be exchanged across Threads and Instagram posts.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, limited the number of tweets users may view on Saturday, citing extreme “data scraping.”
The move is Mr. Musk’s most recent attempt to persuade users to subscribe to Twitter Blue, the company’s subscription service.
Additionally, TweetDeck, a well-known user dashboard, was announced to be behind a paywall in 30 days.
Many Twitter users have publicly voiced their displeasure with the service since Mr. Musk assumed control as well as with his leadership, erratic behavior, and political stances.
But alternatives have not yet gained popularity: Mastodon saw only a modest increase in users. Bluesky, whose board of directors includes Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, continues to be invite-only, which now caps the number of users who can switch.
Possibly in jest, Mr. Musk and the CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, agreed to a cage match last month. However, Twitter is currently up against strong opposition. The estimated two billion users of Instagram outnumber the estimated 300 million users of Twitter, whose numbers can no longer be independently verified.
The community that Twitter has created is what, in my opinion, keeps many of its ardent users on the platform. The community will move rather fast, even if only one in ten Instagram users give Threads a try, Mr. Benvie told the BBC.
The Threads app isn’t currently available in the EU, but it will be in the UK.
According to BBC News, this is due to legislative ambiguity, especially with regard to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, but the company will continue to investigate launching in the EU.
throughout other things, that law establishes guidelines on how big businesses like Meta can share data throughout the platforms they control. Part of the problem is the data exchange between Instagram and Threads.
Senior executives at competing companies have also questioned how much data the platform may gather. A screenshot illustrating the kinds of data that Threads might ask for, including location, browser history, contacts, and financial data, was tweeted by Jack Dorsey. He tweeted, “All of your Threads are our property.
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The last tweet from Jack
Elon Musk answered “yeah” even though Twitter also used the same data.
Due to the way it previously handled user data on its platforms, Meta has been hit with significant fines. In May, it received a record-breaking €1.2 billion (£ 1 billion) penalties for data transfers to the US, while in September, Instagram received a €405 million (£ 346 million) fine for its handling of children’s data protection.
According to Meta, maintaining customer privacy is essential to its operations. According to the company, when users sign up for Threads, they also agree to its privacy policy, just as they would for other services. It claims that it utilizes data to personalize feeds and help users stay secure on their apps.
