The big day of the super-social challenge has arrived. Meta challenge Twitter. In fact, Threads was launched today, the new app created by the founder of Facebook and Instagram Meta, announced as a rival of Twitter.
It will be linked to Instagram but will allow users to post up to 500 characters of text, up to five minutes of video and links as well as images. The new app is the latest chapter in the rivalry between Facebook number one Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in October. Users of the new app will be able to use their Instagram login to get started and, like on the image-sharing platform, will be able to follow and connect with friends and influencers with similar interests.
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Someone’s feed on the app includes threads from people they follow as well as recommended content from creators they haven’t heard of yet. Thread posts can be shared on a user’s Instagram Stories and as a link on other platforms.
People can control who mentions them and who can reply to them on the new app, replies to threads containing specific words can be filtered, and other users can be unfollowed, blocked, restricted and reported. Any accounts that a user has blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on the new app. Instagram’s safety guidelines will be enforced on the new platform, Meta said. Ultimately, the California-based company wants it to be possible for people without a Threads account to still interact on the platform, which it hopes will usher in a “new era of diverse and interconnected networks.”