Meta's much-hyped micro blogging platform, Threads, is finally here. Currently, Threads is available for download on both Android and iOS platforms through their respective app stores.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has been on Twitter for over a decade. However, he recently made his first tweet using an iconic Spiderman pointing to Spiderman meme, indirectly announcing the launch of the Twitter alternative, Threads.
Being touted as an alternative to Twitter, the rollout of the Meta-owned app comes on the heels of Elon Musk announcing limits on how many tweets you can read on Twitter per day. Under Elon Musk's leadership, Twitter has been going through a particularly rough period in what many regard as its gradual product deterioration. Many of its questionable business decisions have gone widely unpopular with users. Read more about it here.
Here is quick guide to Threads, which rolled out in more than 100 countries on Thursday.
What is Threads and how do we use it?
Threads is a text-based conversation app that can be signed in using Instagram credentials while keeping the same usernames, followers and verification status. It provides the option to post text, videos and photos and the ability to engage in real-time conversations. The user interface of the app closely resembles Twitter.
The app is linked to your Instagram account, and according to Meta, you can "easily share a Threads post to your Instagram story, or share your post as a link on any other platform you choose."
According to a Thread post by Mark Zuckerberg, the platform was designed with the intention of creating a welcoming and open public forum for interactions. Users may write posts and upload photos and videos. Using the best elements of Instagram, Threads promises to offer a fresh and original experience.
Users can easily follow the same accounts which they already follow on Instagram with a few clicks and port the following over rather than start from scratch on Threads. When you create a post or "Thread," you can select who's able to view it, which may be the entire world or your followers.
Thread users can also unfollow, report, block or restrict a profile. This can be accessed using the three dots drop-down menu, and anyone blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads.
One of the unique features of the Meta-owned app is that users can schedule a reminder to take a break by selecting a suitable interval. The interval options include 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes and Never.
How is it different from Twitter?
Functionally, Threads is similar to Twitter, with some minor differences. Thread users can write short posts of up to 500 characters that include links, photos, and short videos up to five minutes in length. The feed will be algorithmic, which means it will feature a mix of people you follow, and recommended content: much like Instagram now. Twitter gives the option to toggle between an algorithmic (For You tab) and chronological-based feed (Following tab) of only people we follow.
A user profile on Threads has two tabs, namely 'Threads' and 'Replies', as opposed to four tabs on Twitter, which are, 'Tweets', 'Replies', 'Media' and 'Likes'. Users can like, comment, repost (similar to retweet) and share a Thread post.
The 'Share' menu on Threads
The app also does not have a paid verification scheme yet that unlocks additional functionality, though Instagram’s blue checks will port over to Threads accounts.
Threads is not available in the European Union, as of now. It is being excluded from the EU initially due to “the complexities with complying with some of the laws coming into effect next year,” according to the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri. This is in reference to the Digital Markets Act, which imposes a bunch of new legal obligations on platforms like Meta.
Privacy concerns with Threads
Even before its official rollout, the Meta-owned micro-blogging platform has sparked controversy with its privacy policy. The official listing on Apple's App Store as well as on the Google Play Store reveals that Meta’s Threads may collect data on health, fitness, finances, contacts, browsing history, usage, location, search history, identifiers, and other sensitive information like racial or ethnic data, sexual orientation, religious and political beliefs.
Threads also collects physical addresses and other user contact info. While "physical address" is the home location of the user, "Other User Contact Info" indicates other contact information that can be used to connect with the users outside the app.
Flagging privacy concerns, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted about the same.
However, even Twitter collects a comparable amount of user data just as Threads, except for health and fitness-related information, ethnic data, sexual orientation, physical address and other user contact info.
Our take
Was this the cage fight that Mark Zuckerberg was talking about when he responded to Elon Musk? Perhaps.
Apart from its innovative Instagram integration, Meta-owned Threads is largely reminiscent of Twitter before it got complicated with Twitter Blue and the hodge-podge user interface. Threads have an easy-to-use, intuitive user experience.
The feed is sleek, easy to read and currently inundated with users' posts announcing their first day on the new app. Until now, Threads does not seem to use hashtags and does not have a feature that allows users to search for specific text or phrases, the way Twitter allowed.
Threads is likely to leverage its user-friendly experience, which it promises to deliver, in its stride. Twitter has become progressively less useful and clunkier, so being able to use an app where one can view and interact with content without glitches is truly a breath of fresh air.
A discernible problem with the platform is that we cannot delete our Thread profile and data unless we delete the Instagram account integrated with it. Also, as of now, we cannot embed Threads, the way we can embed tweets and Youtube videos.
However, just like other social media platforms, Threads too is vulnerable to bad actors and trolls spreading misinformation and violence. If Zuckerberg's Threads is able to curtail that efficiently, then it could truly be a valuable addition to the social media mayhem.
Will this become like Clubhouse? Can it really replace Twitter? We will have to wait and watch.