Introducing Threads: A New Way to Share with Text
Threads, the highly anticipated Twitter competitor developed by Meta, has finally made its debut after months of speculation, leaks, and even a headline-worthy challenge between tech moguls Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. The platform is now accessible through its desktop site at Threads.net or by downloading the app on iOS and Android devices. In case the app doesn’t appear on iOS or if you encounter an error, you can try force quitting the App Store and relaunching it.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, discussed the launch of Threads in an interview with Alex Heath from The Verge. Mosseri acknowledged Twitter’s pioneering role in the social media landscape but emphasized that Meta saw an opportunity to create an open platform that would benefit the existing Instagram community.
Similar to Twitter, Threads allows users to create text-based posts with a maximum of 500 characters and share photos and videos up to five minutes in length. The app features a clean and minimalistic interface, resembling Twitter, and provides options to like, comment, repost, and share threads. As Threads is closely integrated with Instagram, users can log in using their Instagram username and easily follow the same people they already follow on the photo-sharing platform.
The main feed on Threads displays a combination of recommended content and posts from the accounts users follow. Unlike Twitter, there doesn’t appear to be an option to switch between streams of recommended content and following-only content. However, Meta might introduce this feature in the future.
Privacy controls from Instagram are extended to Threads, allowing users to filter out specific words in replies and determine who can reply to their threads. The options include allowing replies from everyone on the platform, people you follow, or only users mentioned in the post.
At launch, Meta has not included Threads support for ActivityPub, a decentralized social networking protocol used by platforms like Mastodon. ActivityPub enables data transfer between hosts and promotes interoperability. Meta, however, expresses its belief in the decentralized approach and its importance for the future of online platforms. Threads represents Meta’s first step towards compatibility with an open social networking protocol, with the aim of helping users find their community regardless of the app they use.
The release of Threads coincides with Twitter’s implementation of stricter user restrictions, such as a temporary rate limit that limits unverified users to viewing 600 posts per day (or 300 for “new unverified” accounts). Twitter also briefly blocked logged-out users from viewing tweets but later reversed the change and introduced a new version of TweetDeck that requires a verified subscription.
Meta is launching Threads in more than 100 countries, including the United States. However, the platform will not be available in the European Union initially. Mosseri, who now resides in Europe, explained that the decision was driven by the complexities of complying with upcoming laws. Meta aims to ensure that its launch aligns with current and anticipated regulations and maintains a high standard of documentation and internal testing to support any claims about compliance.
