Meta, the parent company of Facebook, officially launched its rival to Twitter called Threads on Wednesday. The app has gained significant traction, with 30 million sign-ups as of Thursday morning, including brands, celebrities, journalists, and other prominent accounts.

The launch of Threads created a buzz similar to the first day of school, with early adopters rushing to try out the app and share their first posts. It quickly became the top free app on Apple’s App Store and a trending topic on Twitter.

Here’s what we discovered about Meta’s Threads so far:

What is Actually Threads?

Thread is a new app from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It resembles Twitter, featuring a feed primarily focused on text-based posts, although users can also share photos and videos. It aims to provide real-time conversations.

Messages posted on Threads are limited to 500 characters. Like Twitter, users can reply, repost, and quote others’ posts. The app also incorporates elements from Instagram, allowing users to share Threads posts directly to Instagram Stories.

Thread accounts can be public or private. Verified Instagram accounts are automatically verified on Threads.

According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the vision for Threads is to create a friendly public space for conversation, building on Instagram’s strengths and offering a new text-focused experience.

Mark Zuckerberg

Some users experienced glitches and content loading issues during the early hours after the launch, which is expected when millions of users join and use an app simultaneously.

How do you sign up? Can you leave?

Users can sign up for Threads using their Instagram accounts and keep the same username, password, and account name. They can customize their bio for Threads. Importing the list of followed accounts from Instagram makes it easy to get started on the app.

However, leaving Threads is not as straightforward. Users can temporarily deactivate their profiles through the app’s settings, but the company states in its privacy policy that “your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account.” Some users have raised concerns about the data that Threads and Instagram collect, including location, contacts, search history, browsing history, and contact information, according to the Apple App Store.

Where are Threads available?

Threads is available in 100 countries and supports over 30 languages on Apple’s iOS and Android platforms.

                                  Could Threads be the “Twitter killer”?

Threads is the latest platform aiming to challenge Twitter as the leading app for real-time, public conversations. It has a good chance of succeeding, as many Twitter users have sought alternatives since Musk took over. Frequent technical issues and policy changes have pushed notable Twitter users to leave the platform.

Meta has a significant advantage over Twitter due to its massive user base. With over 2 billion active Instagram users worldwide, Meta aims to attract some of them to the new app. In comparison, Twitter has around 250 million active users.

Twitter’s new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, acknowledged Threads’ launch in a tweet, calling Twitter “irreplaceable” and emphasizing its unique community.

Meta’s scale and existing infrastructure work to its advantage. Unlike other recent Twitter competitors that required waitlists or invitations, Threads makes it remarkably easy for users to get started.

However, Meta will need to address issues like spam, harassment, conspiracy theories, and false claims to maintain user engagement on Threads. These issues have caused many Twitter users to become dissatisfied. The launch of Threads follows Meta’s layoffs, including employees focused on user experience, well-being, policy, and risk analytics. It also coincides with the upcoming 2024 US Presidential election campaign season, with experts warning of an influx of misinformation. Meta states that its Community Guidelines will apply to Threads, as with its other apps.

What else does Meta gain from Threads?

For Meta, Threads provides an opportunity to increase engagement among its vast user base. Although there are no ads on the platform currently, Threads could eventually supplement Meta’s core advertising business. Meta’s ad business could benefit from addressing challenges in the online ad market decline and Apple’s app privacy changes. However, based on Twitter’s experience, Threads may not attract as much advertising revenue as Meta’s other platforms.

For Mark Zuckerberg, the motivation may lie in surpassing his rival Elon Musk, with whom he has been discussing plans for a cage fight in recent weeks. Winning the battle of social networks could be an even greater victory for Zuckerberg.

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