Meta throws 'Threads' to tangle up angry users fleeing Twitter
Listed as "Threads, an Instagram app," the new programme should be available in the coming days
July 04, 2023
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has launched its new text-based app named Threads which has become available for pre-order on the app stores on Apple and Android Monday aiming to give a tough time to Elon Musk’s Twitter, as his controversial initiatives on the platform irked millions of users.
Since CEO Tesla and SpaceX Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last year, he has conducted some unpopular changes such as removing blue checkmarks, directing people to pay monthly amounts for the verified marks and in the latest decision, limiting the number of tweets a user.
In line with the new guidelines, the social platform has limited tweets for verified accounts to 10,000, 1,000 tweets per day for non-verified users and 500 tweets for new unverified accounts.
Listed as "Threads, an Instagram app," the new program should be available in the coming days, and is described on Apple’s app store as "Instagram’s text-based conversation app."
"Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what'll be trending tomorrow," noted the app’s description on the store.
The launch of the Threads also came as Musk spread uncertainty by restructuring Twitter’s finances and firing thousands of employees, however, it backfired and the company lost nearly half of its value as the 52-year-old had said in an interview that his company is worth less than half of its value when he acquired.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced in mid-March that it was working on a new social network whose description made it a potential competitor to Twitter.
Threads will enable users to "connect directly with your favourite 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," according to its app store description.
"We’re thinking about a decentralised, independent social network for sharing written messages in real time," the group said in a statement sent to AFP.
The latest decision by Musk aimed to limit the use of the social network’s data by third parties, in particular companies feeding artificial intelligence (AI) models.
