Instagram may launch Twitter rival 'Threads' on July 6
We have been hearing about Meta's Twitter competitor "Threads"—based on Instagram—for a while. The app even made a brief appearance on Google Play. Now, it has made its way into Apple's App Store. Per the listing, Threads is expected to launch on July 6. The App Store screenshots match those that showed up on Google Play. Let's see what the app will be like.
Why does this story matter?
Twitter has dominated the microblogging space for a long time. However, Twitter's rivals have been growing in strength since Elon Musk's takeover. Last week, Musk alienated Twitterati further with a controversial decision to limit the number of tweets an account can see per day. And Meta could not have asked for a better time to launch Threads.
Users can log in with Instagram handle
The screenshots of Threads on the App Store are not different from what we have seen earlier. The app looks like a mix of Instagram and Twitter. Threads will allow users to log in with their Instagram handle. The app will also port over the accounts that a user follows on Instagram, making it easy to build a community.
Threads to allow users to like, comment, repost, share
"Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what'll be trending tomorrow," its App Store description reads. Instagram calls it a "text-based conversation app." Like on Twitter, users will be able to like, comment, repost, and share posts, too. Users can also decide the audience of their posts.
App expected to support ActivityPub
Although it is based on Instagram, Threads will be a standalone app. The app will support ActivityPub, the decentralized social networking protocol. Twitter rival Mastodon is powered by ActivityPub. Threads is expected to be compatible with Mastodon. This might be surprising to many, considering the extremely centralized nature of Meta's apps. It needs to be seen how decentralized Threads will be.
Threads might have headstart in battle against Twitter
Would Threads mount a significant challenge to Twitter? There is no better time to find that out than now. The past few days have seen Twitter rivals like Bluesky, Spill, and Post witness significant growth in their user base. Ex-Twitter users are actively looking for an alternative, and Threads' reputation, courtesy of Instagram, might give it a headstart.
Meta threw shade at Twitter during a meeting
Meta has not hidden its desire to take on Twitter with Threads. During a companywide meeting last month, Meta's chief product officer Chris Cox called Threads "our response to Twitter." According to Cox, creators and public figures have been asking for a "platform that is sanely run." A platform "they believe they can trust and rely upon for distribution."
Jack Dorsey took a dig at Threads' data collection
Meanwhile, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey took a dig at Threads' data collection. According to a screenshot posted by Dorsey, Threads may collect 14 kinds of data. Twitter, on the other hand, collects 10 categories of data.
