Instagram’s Threads – Know Everything About Twitter’s Rival App

Threads, Meta powered app that is closely similar to Elon Musk’s Twitter and is affiliated with Instagram has witnessed over 1 crore downloads within 7 hours of going live.

Meta has come up with a whole new social networking app called Threads which is identical to the world-famous social media platform Twitter. The app is a potential alternative to Twitter since it has similar features where one can share text updates along with images, links, and videos.

The app went live for both Android and iOS users on Wednesday, the 5th of July, and immediately caught up people’s attention. It went on to record more than 10 million signups within 7 hours of getting launched.

“Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text, creating a positive and creative space to express your ideas. Just like on Instagram, with Threads you can follow and connect with friends and creators who share your interests – including the people you follow on Instagram and beyond.”- Meta’s Blog.

Just like you can share your thoughts and opinions or join public conversations on Twitter, Threads allow you to do the same. With a word limit of up to 500 characters and a media limit of up to 5 minutes, users can post and share stuff, privately or publicly.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta also expressed his joy of launching this app by posting on it. He even replied with his thoughts when asked if Threads can beat Twitter and become a bigger app than it:

He 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.”

Owned by Meta and developed by Instagram’s team, this app’s interface is comparatively more crisp and neat. The users can follow their favorite accounts and like, share, and comment on their posts just like usual. 

How to Sign Up on the Threads App?

Threads app can be easily logged in and accessed using your existing Instagram account. All you need to do is have an Instagram account first.

Step 1: Download the Threads app from the Play Store or the Apple Store.

Step 2: Go to Sign Up

When you click on Login, the app will automatically detect the Instagram account and then choose the account you want to continue with if you have multiple accounts logged in.

Step 3: Verify Yourself

The next step is the verification and authorization of your account.

Step 4: Change Your Privacy Setting

Customize your privacy settings as per your requirements and there you go.

Step 5: Successfully Sign Up

You’ll be signed up successfully and now you can start posting!

Feature of the Instagram’s Threads App

The app is pretty easy to use, very similar to how you would use Twitter. You get the option to choose if you want to follow the same people from your Instagram account or follow different or additional accounts.

You will be able to view the content from the profiles you are following as well as the recommended content based on your activity and the app’s algorithm.

“You can control who can mention you or reply to you within Threads. Like on Instagram, you can add hidden words to filter out replies to your threads that contain specific words. You can unfollow, block, restrict, or report a profile on Threads by tapping the three-dot menu, and any accounts you’ve blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads.”

You can also choose if you want to keep your account private or public. The user accounts under the age of 16 in some countries and under 18 in a few others will be automatically set to private upon signing up. The app also comes with strict security and community guidelines for the content posted on the app.

The company in their blog post has mentioned that they’re working on making the app compatible with Interoperable Networks. Along with that they also wrote they’ll bring fun and improved features within the app in the future to enhance the user experience.

With the introduction of Threads, Meta aims to provide users with a new platform for engaging in text-based discussions. This launch coincides with Twitter implementing stricter limitations on its users.

For instance, unverified users now face a temporary rate limit that restricts them from viewing more than 600 posts per day (or 300 posts for “new unverified” accounts). Additionally, Twitter initially prevented logged-out users from accessing tweets on the platform, but later reversed this decision. Furthermore, a new version of TweetDeck has been created, which requires a verified subscription.