Instagram plans to release a text-based app that will compete with Twitter. Meta’s service is currently testing the project with celebrities and influencers, according to people familiar with the matter, after having long-selected a team of creators.
The app, which will be separate from Instagram but will allow people to connect accounts, could debut as early as June, according to Lia Haberman, who teaches social and influencer marketing at UCLA and posted a screenshot of an early description of the app. It could eventually be compatible with other competing Twitter apps, including Mastodon, according to Haberman. Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms Inc, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover of Twitter has made some users look for alternatives and created an opening in the market.
“Historically, we know that Meta likes to recreate functionality from other third-party apps and tools based on what they predict to be popular with their users,” Haberman said. The professor noted that Musk has talked about turning Twitter into an “app for everything,” with many features beyond informative posts. “Based on Meta’s track record borrowed from other platforms, they’re much more likely to get there first by consolidating all these experiences they’re building.” The Platformer mailing list also reported last March that Meta was exploring a text-based app.
