Ten million users signed up for Meta’s newly-launched Threads app, a rival to Twitter, in its first seven hours, the company’s chief Mark Zuckerberg says.
He pitched the app as a “friendly” rival to Twitter, which was bought by Elon Musk in October. Experts say Threads could attract Twitter users unhappy with recent changes to the platform.
Threads allows users to post up to 500 characters and has many features similar to Twitter.
“Our vision is to take the best parts of Instagram and create a new experience for text, ideas, and discussing what’s on your mind,” Zuckerberg said.
“I think the world needs this kind of friendly community, and I’m grateful to all of you who are part of Threads from day one.”
But Musk responded: “It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter, than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram.”
When asked on Threads whether the app will be “bigger than Twitter”, Zuckerberg said: “It’ll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it.
“Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully, we will.”
Threads and Twitter owners agree to a cage fight
The two tech billionaires have apparently agreed to hold a cage fight in Nevada to settle their rivalry.
In an exchange that took place in late June, Musk said “I’m up for a cage match if he is” in response to a Twitter thread mocking Zuckerberg’s recent penchant for jiu-jitsu, which he had been posting on Instagram.
Zuckerberg replied through Instagram including a screenshot of Musk’s tweet with the caption: “Send Me Location.” As Meta owner, Zuckerberg also owns Instagram and Facebook.
Musk stated that he will start training if the cage fight with Zuckerberg is to take place.
Competitors have criticized the amount of data the app might use. This may include health, financial, and browsing data linked to users’ identities, according to the Apple App Store.
The name was initially used for a different purpose. Back in 2019, Meta introduced Threads as an app aiming to rival Snapchat, which targeted a younger audience.
How to sign up for and use Meta’s new Twitter competitor
Threads is now out for both iOS and Android, and downloading them should be straightforward. Its full name is “Threads, an Instagram app” and it is readily available on both platforms’ stores.
You can find the App Store listing for iPhone here, and the Play Store listing for Android phones here. You can of course also search for the word “Threads”, though other apps might appear.
There is some chance that clicking through to those listings might show that the app is not available. If so, that’s probably because it’s not available in your country; the app has not yet been launched in the EU, apparently because of data protection concerns related to the way that data will be passed between apps.
Meta has not yet announced when people in those countries will be able to get the app.
Sign in and set up Threads
Meta has built Threads to integrate with Instagram, and users can sign in with their existing accounts from that service.
Opening up the app should show a user’s existing Instagram account, alongside the option to choose a new one, and clicking that begins the process of getting started.
From there, users can customize their profile for Threads, choosing a name and adding a bio, or importing it from Instagram.
The app will then ask about privacy settings and ask whether you want to follow accounts from Instagram, before opening up and getting started.
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