Meta officially launches Twitter rival Threads

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has launched a new social media app called Threads, which aims to compete with Twitter for real-time conversations online.

The app, which was available for pre-order on the Apple App Store and Android, went live on Thursday, July 6, 2023. According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who posted on his verified Threads account, the app received 30 million sign-ups as of Thursday morning.

"The vision for Threads is to create an open and friendly public space for conversation," Zuckerberg said in a Threads post following the launch. "We hope to take what Instagram does best and create a new experience around text, ideas, and discussing what's on your mind."

The app appears to have many similarities to Twitter, from the layout to the product description. The listing describes it as a place where communities can come together to discuss everything from the topics they care about today to what's trending.

"Whatever it is you're interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things — or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world," it reads.

Meta said messages posted to Threads will have a 500 character limit. The app also allows users to link their Instagram accounts, customize their profiles, and follow the same accounts they already follow on Instagram. The look is similar to Twitter with a familiar layout, text-based feed, the ability to repost and quote other Thread posts. But it also blends Instagram's existing aesthetic and offers the ability to share posts from Threads directly to Instagram Stories. Verified Instagram accounts are also automatically verified on Threads. Thread accounts can also be listed as public or private.

The new app joins a growing list of Twitter rivals and could pose the biggest threat to Twitter of the bunch, given Meta's vast resources and its massive audience. Meta has a history of borrowing other company's ideas and making them work, such as Reels (a TikTok copy) and Stories (a Snapchat copy).

The launch of Threads also comes amid a rivalry between Zuckerberg and Twitter owner Elon Musk, who recently agreed to a physical fight after exchanging jabs on social media. Musk has also faced criticism from some users for restricting the number of tweets they can see, citing extreme "data scraping". He has also tried to get users to sign up for Twitter's subscription service, Twitter Blue, by putting features such as TweetDeck behind a paywall.

Zuckerberg said he hopes Threads will eventually surpass Twitter in terms of users. "It'll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it," he wrote on Threads. "Hopefully we will."

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