Meta Plans to Introduce Threads, an App to Compete with Twitter

via Business Today.in

Meta is preparing to launch an app called Threads, which seems to be a direct rival to Elon Musk's Twitter. The app was discovered on Apple's App Store, suggesting that its debut may occur as early as Thursday.

Threads is described as a "text-based conversation app" that is linked to Instagram, offering a microblogging experience similar to Twitter. The app's listing promotes it as a platform for communities to engage in discussions about various topics.

Screenshots on the App Store indicate that Instagram users can maintain their usernames and follow the same accounts on Threads. Meta has chosen not to comment on the app.

In response to a tweet from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey stating, "All your Threads are belong to us," Musk replied with a simple "yeah" and shared a screenshot from the App Store's privacy section that displayed the personal information potentially collected by the new Meta app.

Threads could pose a challenge for Musk, who acquired Twitter for $44 billion last year and has made changes that have upset advertisers and driven away users, including implementing daily limits on tweet views. Matt Navarra, a social media consultant, suggests that Meta's timing is favorable because Twitter users are becoming frustrated with Musk's alterations and are seeking an alternative. Threads offers an opportunity to switch to a platform that can provide the desired features that Twitter no longer offers, Navarra explains.

Allowing Instagram users to transfer their profiles to Threads may attract more users to the new app by providing a pre-established set of accounts to follow. Navarra, a former director of social media at tech news site The Next Web and a digital communications adviser for the British government, also notes that Meta's privacy track record might deter some users.

It remains uncertain whether the discontent is strong enough to trigger a mass exodus from Twitter or if it will result in a gradual decline, Navarra adds.

The rivalry between Musk and Meta Platforms may even extend beyond the digital realm, as an online exchange between Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at a potential face-off in a cage match, although it remains unclear if it will materialize.

Source: Associated Press (AP)