Instagram owner Meta officially launches rival to Twitter in UK
Threads, an app created by Facebook and Instagram owners Meta, has been launched in the UK.
The new social media app is being seen as a direct rival to Twitter, at a time when Elon Muskâs venture is undergoing changes and struggling with advertising revenue.
Social media analyst Matt Navarra said the app is the âfirst credible threatâ to Twitter.
âUsers of Twitter are desperately looking for an exit from the platform to escape, and the existing options of rivals are fairly limited,â he told the PA news agency earlier this week.
âOne of the biggest benefits for Meta is that itâs building off the back of Instagram, where people are familiar and can also kick-start their following because it ties into the same social graph.â
Threads is linked to Instagram but allows users to post up to 500 characters of text and up to five minutes of video and links, as well as pictures.
Meta says Threads will be a place âwhere communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to whatâll be trending tomorrowâ.
The promotional text adds: âWhatever it is youâre interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things â or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world.â
It is the latest chapter in the rivalry between Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Last month, the pair agreed to take each other on in a cage fight.
Users of the new app will be able to use their Instagram login to get started and can follow and connect with friends and influencers with similar interests.
In the UK, all under 18s will be defaulted onto a private profile when they join.
Someoneâs feed on the app includes threads from people they follow as well as recommended content from creators they have not yet heard of.
Threads posts can be shared on a userâs Instagram story 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 out and other users can be unfollowed, blocked, restricted and reported.
Any accounts a user has blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on the new app.
Meta says Instagramâs safety guidelines will be enforced on the new platform.
Eventually it wants it to be possible for people without a Threads account to interact on the platform, which it hopes will usher in a ânew era of diverse and interconnected networksâ.
If and when this happens, if a user has a public profile their posts will be accessible from other apps while if they have a private one they will have to approve new followers.
Threads is the latest in a series of copycat rivals to Twitter.
Mastodon, a free network maintained in Germany, has been around since 2016 but has gained a significant boost in users as a result of controversy over Mr Muskâs changes to Twitter.
Bluesky, a spin-off launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, claimed to have seen ârecordâ traffic over the weekend.
Mr Navarra said that while users have an appetite for change, it would be weighed up against mixed public opinions on Meta.
He added: âMeta and Instagram comes with baggage, a bad name and bad press. People are very wary and sceptical of anything [Meta owner] Mark Zuckerberg does.â
But he also told i earlier this week that Metaâs plans stand more chance of success than any of the competitors that have appeared so far. Mastodon and Bluesky have both seen spikes in users as Twitter has faced significant issues, but the former in particular has struggled to keep users on the service.
The arrival of the new app comes after Twitter announced TweetDeck is to become the next part of the company to be limited to users who have paid for verified status.
Two days earlier, Mr Musk announced users would be limited to reading just 600 posts a day.