The owner of the Facebook, which is set to launch a new ‘app’ to rival Twitter, says it will go live on Thursday.
The ‘app’, called Threads and available for pre-order from the Apple App Store, will be linked to Instagram.
The screenshots show a dashboard similar to Twitter. Meta describes Threads as a “text-based chat app”.
The move is the latest in a feud between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter owner Elon Musk.
Last month, the two agreed to a truce, although it’s unclear if the men were still (not playing) fighting.
In response to a Twitter message about Threads, Musk, in what appeared to be another jab at Zuckerberg, said, “Thank God they’re doing so well.”
Meanwhile, Twitter said that its ‘dashboard’ called TweetDeck, from the next 30 days will be used by users of the service.
The move is Musk’s latest effort as he tries to get Twitter users to join its subscription service, known as Twitter Blue.
On Saturday, the billionaire limited the number of tweets that Twitter users could see, saying the reason was that Twitter was “removing information” in an extreme manner.
For this ‘app’ Meta Threads, it appears that it will be free to use – and there will be no restrictions on the number of messages a user can see.
In the description of this ‘app’ from the App Store, it says: “Threads are a place where people come together and discuss everything from the topics that interest you today to what will be the most talked about tomorrow”.
The photos show the ‘app’, which looks almost exactly like Twitter.
Threads, like Meta’s ‘app’, will also collect data from your phone, including your location, purchases and browsing history.
Many ‘apps’ that closely resemble Twitter have proliferated in recent years – such as former US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social, and Mastodon.
Another such app, called Bluesky, says it has seen “unprecedented” users following Musk’s decision last weekend to limit Twitter usage.
But Threads is probably going to be the first big hack Twitter has come across so far.
Mark Zuckerberg has a history of borrowing ideas from other companies – and making them work.
The video mode known as Meta’s ‘Reels’, is seen by many as copying TikTok, while the ‘Story’ mode is similar to Snapchat.
Meta has the resources to compete with Twitter. Threads will be based on the Instagram website, so this ‘app’ will have access to hundreds of millions of accounts. It doesn’t start from scratch, as other ‘apps’ that could compete with Twitter would have done.
While some praised Musk for taking an interest in free speech, some Twitter users were disappointed.
Zuckerberg’s hope is that he can win over many disillusioned Twitter users and create a stable ‘app’ to compete with Twitter.
