Meta’s Threads social networking app launched a day earlier than expected, providing billions of users with an alternative to Twitter.
Amid growing frustration with Elon Musk-owned social media service Twitter, the Threads app has officially been launched by Meta on the Apple and Google mobile app stores.
Threads are similar to Twitter, allowing users to post statuses as text content, reply to other users, like or retweet messages. The service also allows Meta-owned Instagram users to follow the same account on Threads, which in turn can help people add followers.
Meta says its vision is to take the best parts of Instagram and create new experiences for text, ideas, and discussion of what users are thinking.
In the days leading up to the official announcement, many social media users called Threads the product that would bring down Twitter, expecting users of the rival platform to support the new app. Many Twitter users have expressed frustration with recent changes initiated by Elon Musk, most recently The billionaire adjusted the number of tweets that non-paid users can see each day
Twitter has also seen a spike in hate speech since Elon Musk bought the platform last year.
According to technology research firm Forrester, Meta is targeting a time when Twitter frustration is at a very high level. Threads, billed as an Instagram app, is another imitator move from Meta, which has a history of introducing services that mimic other standalone tools. It can be noted that the messaging application Slingshot or IGTV, the video service from Instagram
Meta sees Threads as a place where users can follow and connect directly with their favorite creators. In other words, Threads is like Twitter but with more focus on Instagram creators and celebrities.