Meta’s long-awaited Twitter rival, Threads, launches in the UK today.
built by the company Instagram Team, which is billed as a home for “sharing text updates and joining public conversations.”
It was released on a very tight schedule and in a few days Another Controversial Move From Twitter Incendiary Owner Elon Musk Forced many to look for alternative platforms.
With shameless lookalikes and billions of mark Zuckerberg behind it Threads Appears to be capable of challenging “bird apps” in a similar fashion blue sky and mastodon Not quite there yet.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What are threads?
Threads were first designed as a place to share public real-time text updates, much like Twitter.
In fact, you hardly need to squint to see that Threads looks just like Twitter — albeit with a different font.
Posts can be up to 500 characters in length and include links, photos and videos up to five minutes long.
They are displayed in a timeline format, and posts can be liked, retweeted, replied to, and shared elsewhere.
Users will be able to follow celebrities, athletes and friends, many of whom no longer use Instagram.
It’s available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
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People will be able to post text updates with images, videos and links.Image: Yuan
What does “Skipped from Instagram” mean?
Beyond money and influence Yuan For its part, Threads’ biggest advantage over its competitors is that it leverages Instagram’s already large user base.
There are more than 2 billion Instagram accounts, and the same credentials can be used to log into Threads.
Usernames and verifications will continue, meaning Threads can quickly amass the sizable roster of celebrities, athletes, politicians, sports clubs, news outlets and brands that already use Instagram.
It also means you’ll likely have more of your Twitter friends and other followers on Threads.
It will soon be much more active than apps like Bluesky and Mastodon, which have grown since Musk took over Twitter but still lag far behind its estimated user base of 360-400 million.
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Instagram accounts can be transferred to Threads.Image: Yuan
Did any celebrities sign up?
Early adopters include chef Gordon Ramsay, pop star Shakira, F1 driver Lando Norris and NBA star Seth Curry.
Even if you don’t follow them, they may show up in your feed if their posts are considered “recommended content.”
It’s certainly a smaller lineup than Instagram and Twitter currently have, but it’s likely to grow fast.
How does Threads handle privacy and security?
Threads will have the same functionality as Instagram in this regard, Meta said.
All profiles under the age of 18 will be private by default when joining, and anyone can control who can reply or mention them. Words can also be filtered so you don’t see any posts containing them.
Accounts can be blocked, restricted and reported to Meta’s moderation team, and anyone you block on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads.
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Meta says Threads will share the same privacy features as Instagram.Image: Yuan
Is there anything really unique about Threads?
It’s not really a big deal, to be honest, but an interesting decision that tells us how it goes.
Meta says Threads will soon be compatible with ActivityPub — essentially, an open social networking protocol that allows different platforms to talk to each other.
Upstarts like Mastodon have taken the same approach, but it’s more unusual for a large company.
In effect, it allows you to transfer content between services. So if you’ve been on Mastodon for the past 9 months after leaving Twitter, but now want to move to Threads, you can finally move your content.
You can also interact with people on different apps, and no matter which app you’re using, your posts will be accessible through the digital line. At the same time, each platform can still have its own moderation policy.
For many people, the biggest problem when leaving any social media platform is giving up potentially years of content and interactions. Ideally, this decentralized approach could be a solution.