Facebook-owner Meta Platforms plans to launch a microblogging app, Threads, to rival Twitter which users complain has become difficult to use.
Threads, a text-based conversation app linked with Instagram, is expected to be released on Thursday. The app appeared in the Apple app store ahead of the launch. Meta has launched a countdown website for the release.
The app will allow users to follow the accounts they follow on the photo-sharing platform and keep the same username. The app appears to share a similar user interface to Twitter, with similar features including reposting, liking and allowing users to limit who can reply to posts.
A preview of the app says Threads will be a place “where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow”.
“Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things – or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world,” the promotional text says.
The launch comes after Twitter announced a slate of restrictions on the app, including the need to be verified in order to use TweetDeck. Twitter executive chair Elon Musk announced a temporary cap on how many posts users can read on the social media site.
Musk’s latest announcements to address data scraping have sparked a fierce backlash from Twitter users and ad experts said it would undermine new CEO Linda Yaccarino, who started in the role last month.
‘Threads’ was originally the name of a 2019 app Meta launched to compete with the youth-focused messaging app Snapchat. The product was later abandoned but Meta retained the branding.
Meta will join a growing field of platforms to replace Twitter since Musk took over late last year and the site became more difficult for its estimated 250 million users to access. Last week, Twitter began requiring users to log in to view the site – previously, people without Twitter profiles could view tweets.
