Meta Platforms, the parent company of Instagram, is gearing up to launch a microblogging app called Threads, aiming to directly compete with Twitter.
The app is scheduled for release on Thursday, according to a listing on Apple’s App Store. One of the notable features of Threads is that it will allow users to retain their followers from Instagram and maintain the same username, offering a seamless transition for existing Instagram users.
This move by Meta Platforms poses a significant challenge to Twitter, which has been embroiled in various controversies since its acquisition by Elon Musk for $44 billion in 2022. Just last week, Elon Musk imposed new restrictions on the platform, limiting the number of tweets users could view per day, leading to widespread criticism among users.
Although alternative microblogging platforms like Mastodon and Blue Sky have witnessed increased user numbers following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, neither has managed to rival the dominance of the social media giant.
Instagram already boasts hundreds of millions of registered users and has a track record of incorporating successful features from other social media platforms. In 2016, Instagram introduced “stories,” a feature that displays user posts for a limited time, in response to the growing popularity of Snapchat.
The launch of Threads presents a credible threat to Twitter’s position in the microblogging sphere.
Drew Benvie, CEO of social media consultancy Battenhall, emphasized the potential impact of Threads, stating, “Threads is going to pose a huge threat to Twitter because it’s coming from the Meta and Instagram family of apps. Instagram already has 2 billion users compared to Twitter’s approximately 250 million, making it ten times larger. If even one in ten Instagram users tries Threads, it could surpass Twitter in no time.”
