Photo credit: Meta
Meta is ready to launch its Twitter killer, Threads, available now for pre-download on the iOS App Store. The release date is July 6th for iOS and Android.
Meta’s Response to Twitter’s Declining Relevance: subjectsscheduled to start on July 6th. A web page for the service is now online with a start countdown and a QR code that redirects to the app’s download links. The app is now available for pre-download on the iOS App Store, while the QR code leading to the Android link is coming soon.
Screenshots of the app in the App Store show that Threads allows you to automatically follow the same accounts you follow on Instagram, with the option to also follow individual Thread accounts.
“Threads are communities where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics that interest you today to the trends of tomorrow,” the app’s description reads.
The interface is not dissimilar to Instagram’s feed, but focuses on text and threaded conversations à la Twitter, rather than Instagram’s focus on photos. Users can choose who can reply to their posts, from anyone on the Threads platform, to the profiles they follow, to only users mentioned in the post, with the end goal of having an experience like a Twitter from before Elon Musk comes very close.
It was like this before revealed that threads could be integrated into the decentralized ActivityPub protocol, potentially allowing users to port their accounts and followers to platforms like Mastodon. That might prove helpful considering many users who’ve already left Twitter are flocking to Mastodon instead.
Meta’s timing for a Twitter-like alternative couldn’t be better as the Musk-powered platform has undergone several changes in recent months that have proven unpopular with users, including an overhaul of the platform’s verification process and a heavily imposed limit on the number of tweets that users can read.