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Yuan Officially launched Threads, a Twitter-like messaging app that the company is pitching as Instagram’s “text-based conversation app.”
Meta CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg announced Threads on Wednesday, marking the official launch of the social networking giant’s new text-centric messaging app. Threads represents Meta’s attempt to capture the wave of users leaving Twitter due to the often unpredictable ownership. tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
In a blog post, Meta said the Threads app is now available as a free download in the Apple App Store and the Google Play online store in more than 100 countries. Threads, like Twitter, is a text-based social messaging app where users can post short messages that others can like, share and comment on, according to screenshots of Threads available on Apple’s App Store.
People will be able to follow the same Threads accounts they follow on Instagram and reply to other public posts in a way similar to how people use Twitter.
Official launch after Instagram freed Threads went up for pre-order on the Apple App Store on Monday, when the app is expected to debut on July 6. Many Instagram users have also recently been able to get invitations to Threads from within their Instagram accounts.
Although Threads is linked to Instagram and users can use their existing Instagram username, the messaging service is a separate app that people need to download.
“Threads is where the community comes together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to tomorrow’s trends,” says Instagram’s description of Threads on Apple’s App Store. “No matter what interests you, you can follow Connect with your favorite creators and others who love the same thing directly, or build your own loyal following and share your thoughts, opinions, and creativity with the world.”
In a blog post, Meta said that people’s profiles on the new messaging app will include “threads” posted by other users they follow, as well as recommendations shared by creators the user may not know.
People will be able to post Threads posts up to 500 characters long, and while the app is text-oriented, people can also share links, photos and videos up to five minutes long. In addition to “any other platform of your choice,” Instagram users will be able to share their Threads posts through the app’s Stories feature, the blog post said.
Meta says it developed Threads, “using tools to enable active, productive conversations,” and people will be able to manage who mentions or replies to them in the app.
“Just like on Instagram, you can add hidden words to filter out replies to posts that contain specific words,” the blog post said. “You can unfollow, block, limit or report a profile on Threads by tapping the three-dot menu, and any account you block on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads.”
As Twitter collapses, the race to fill the gap
The Threads launch comes as Twitter has suffered a wave of disaster under Tesla CEO Elon Musk, leaving the popular social messaging app vulnerable to competing apps.
Many Twitter users have publicly complained that Musk has implemented a temporary so-called “rate limit” on Twitter, saying the tweet limit makes the app less attractive.
Rival social messaging app BlueSky, backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, said its traffic hit a “record high” after Musk announced Twitter’s rate limit and temporarily suspended signups to pay off. Deal with the influx of new users. User, currently must be invited to use the application.
Like BlueSky, Threads will use decentralized technology that would theoretically allow users to control and manage their data within other applications that include the same underlying software.
In a Threads post that was briefly released to the public on Wednesday, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said that BlueSky is built on a decentralized web technology called AT Protocol and that Threads will eventually use another decentralized technology called ActivityPub . ActivityPub software also powers another Twitter-like messaging application called Mastadon, which has also experienced an influx of new users seeking an alternative to Twitter.
Mosseri said his team couldn’t provide support for ActivityPub in time for Threads to be officially released because of “complications that come with a decentralized network.” But he reiterated that support is coming.
“If you’re wondering why this is important, here’s why: You may one day leave Threads, or hopefully not, end up being de-platformed,” Mosseri said. “If that happens, you should be able to take viewers to another server. Keeping it open enables that.”
In its blog post, Meta added that ActivityPub will enable people without Threads accounts to view Threads and interact with Threads users who have public profiles through other social apps powered by the same decentralized technology.
“If you have a public profile on Threads, it means your posts are accessible from other apps, allowing you to reach new people with no extra effort,” Meta said in a blog post. “If you have a private profile, you can approve people on Threads who want to follow you and engage with your content, just like you experience on Instagram.”
Meta says Threads is the company’s first app “envisioned to be compatible with open social networking protocols,” which it believes will usher in “a new era of diverse and interconnected networks.”
In 2019, Meta (then known as Facebook) launched a messaging app for Instagram users, also known as Threads. Unlike the current version of Threads, which caters to text-based messaging, the previous Threads app centered on people sending short video and photo messages to friends, much like they do on Snapchat.
meta final blinds Introducing Threads in 2021 and redirecting people to use Instagram to see all their previous Threads.
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