A thread denotes a digital message flow on a topic. Threads is a short message service from the Internet company Meta by Mark Zuckerberg. Threads’ functionality is similar to that of Twitter. Users can publish short texts, images, videos and links, read other people’s posts and reply to them.
The look is also similar: in threads, conversations are marked with a side line, and users can find the number of replies and likes at the bottom of each post. In addition, some user profiles for threads are provided with the typical Twitter checkmark, which confirms the authenticity of the threads account.
In detail there are differences between Threads and Twitter: Threads users can post short messages with up to 500 characters. Twitter has a maximum of 280 characters, only paying subscribers with a controversial Twitter Blue subscription can post up to 4,000 characters. In addition, threads have not yet had any clickable hashtags that direct users to posts on the same topic.
In addition to accounts that users are actively following, threads also show recommended content. Threads can also only be used with an existing Instagram account. This allows the new meta app to access data from Instagram users and their contacts, some of which have been used for years.
Threads is currently not available in Germany. When searching for “threads” in the App Store, the new meta service is not displayed. The website www.threads.net contains a QR code for app installation. When scanning this code, the smartphone displays the error message “App not available”.
When the Threads app was launched in early July, European users still had the option of downloading the app from foreign app stores or other technical detours. In the meantime, however, Meta has introduced additional blocks, so that the app cannot be used in Europe.
When and if Threads will start in Germany is unclear. The meta group has not yet officially commented on possible plans to provide threads in Europe.
The meta group has not yet commented on the reasons why Threads is not available in Germany. Experts suspect that it is due to the law on digital markets in the EU. This is intended to ensure fair competition between small companies and large online platforms. Among other things, the law prohibits large online corporations from using personal data for any purpose other than the original purpose. A problem in this context could be the transfer of data from existing Instagram accounts to threads.
The Threads app was considered a major competitor to Twitter when it launched on July 5, 2023. According to founder Mark Zuckerberg, the new short message service already had 100 million registrations five days after it was launched.
According to internet analytics company Similarweb, the number of daily active users of Threads on Android devices was 49 million on July 7, 2023. However, within a week, the number dropped to 23.6 million users. The average thread usage time on Android devices also dropped from 21 minutes to 6 minutes on July 14 compared to July 14. The numerous registrations for the app launch could be due to the initial curiosity of users. It remains to be seen whether threads can prevail against Twitter in the long term.
The great attention paid to Threads caused another app to set download records: Consumers in this country keep confusing an app available in the App Store for chatting at work, which is also called Threads, with the new meta short message service.
Meta’s Threads app can be recognized by its logo, a white @-like sign on a black background. The often mistakenly loaded Threads app has a logo of white squares on a purple background. Another difference can be seen in the domain: The workplace chat app, which has been in existence since 2019, has the domain threads.com, while Metas Threads can be reached via the domain threads.net.