What is Threads? Meta’s Twitter clone that could spell real trouble for Elon Musk

How do I get my hands on Threads?

The Threads app is now available to download for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play online store in over 100 countries including India.

What is Threads?

Threads is a brand new microblogging platform from Meta, the monstrous company that owns WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. The app has been designed and built by the Instagram team and is described as a platform for sharing text updates and joining public conversations. Interestingly, Threads uses your existing Instagram network of friends and followers with you. That means you will have to use your Instagram account to sign up for Threads. Meta notes that users who are younger than 18 will receive a default private profile.

Does Threads work any differently from Twitter?

Threads is a Twitter clone, even if Meta claims that the app is modelled after how Instagram changed the way we share visual content on social media. Truth be told, Threads works exactly like Twitter. The platform primarily revolves around text conversation, and your posts – called “threads” are limited to 500 characters each, which is more than Twitter’s 280-character threshold. On Meta’s platform, you mention other people in threads by using the @ symbol in front of their username, and can reply to someone else’s posts. Just like you do it on Twitter, you can also quote or retweet someone else’s threads. At launch, what’s missing is the ability to directly message or DM someone. However, unlike Twitter,  there’s no way to edit threads once you have posted them.

The Threads app is now available to download for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Image credit: Screenshot/Threads)

How does the Threads feed function?

Using Threads isn’t any different from Twitter. Opening the app reveals buttons to like, repost, reply to or quote a “thread”. Going through a thread is easy and the feed as of now is populated with accounts that you don’t follow or might not care about. The feed, of course, will change once more people in your network sign up for Threads. Unlike Twitter, Threads does not seem to use hashtags and does not have a trending section. It also allows users to share up to 10 photos in a single post – the same limit that’s also applicable on Instagram.

Are Instagram and Threads natively integrated?

When you share photos and videos in Threads, they don’t show up as Instagram posts or Reels. That means both Instagram and Threads aren’t natively integrated.

 

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Is Threads safe?

Threads has the same features that go into Instagram from the user’s safety point of view. For example, you can filter out the content that you would rather not be interested in – something you can already do on Instagram. In addition to that, you can also control who can reply to you or mention you in a post including a built-in word filter so that those words don’t appear in your feed or in your replies.

What about my privacy?

Just like Twitter, Thread accounts can be either public or private. Accounts you have blocked on Instagram are automatically blocked on Threads too, and you can unfollow, restrict, or block accounts from directly within Thread the app. That being said, there’s always a doubt when it comes to trusting Meta for user privacy given how the company is known for collecting user data and how it uses them.

Are there any ads on Threads?

For now, there are no ads on Threads but that will change soon. Meta and other big tech companies target “relevant” ads to users based on things like their location, gender, age and interests. That’s Meta’s business model and is highly likely, the company will soon target Threads users with ads.

Users will be able to publish Threads posts that are up to 500 characters long. (Image credit: Meta)

Should Twitter be worried about Meta’s Threads?

Twitter isn’t going anywhere. At least, not in the short term. But Threads could challenge Twitter given how unstable the platform has become ever since Tesla CEO Elon Musk took over. The launch of Threads is well-timed, and that makes Meta’s Twitter clone more interesting. With Twitter being rocked with one controversy after another from policy changes to an exodus of advertisers, Twitter’s core user base has been looking for alternative apps — the latest being the rate limits on the number of tweets a user can view in a day.

Yes, there are many alternatives to Twitter like BlueSky but they don’t have the scale to match Meta. What really works for Threads is that since it is built on top of Instagram’s user base of billions of users, the platform will reach out to a new set of users who have never been on Twitter. And because Threads, like Meta’s other apps, is so tightly integrated that Meta will scale the platform faster than the competition. Meta still faces an uphill battle. Threads isn’t available in the EU (at least as of now) due to regulatory issues that could make it difficult to launch the app in a big market like Europe. The Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta has already been under the scrutiny of watchdogs and regulators for growing power, and with the launch of Threads, there will be new concerns over the expansion of its social media empire.