Meta's new Twitter competitor, Threads, logged an impressive start with five million sign-ups within the first four hours of its launch, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The social media giant aims to woo users from Elon Musk's troubled platform by offering longer posts, celebrity backers, and a design that closely resembles its competitor.
To expedite the app's release, Facebook and Instagram owner moved Threads' debut forward by 15 hours, making it available for free in 100 countries on the Apple and Google app stores. However, due to regulatory concerns, the app will not be accessible in the EU.
Prominent brands like Billboard, HBO, NPR, and Netflix also set up accounts on Threads soon after its launch.
Meta announced that initial celebrity supporters included Shakira and Gordon Ramsay, and there were reports of approaching Oprah Winfrey and the Dalai Lama.
Users of Threads must have an Instagram account to log in. Once registered, they can choose to follow the same accounts they follow on Instagram if those accounts are also present on the new app.
While Threads visually resemble Twitter, certain terms have been changed, with retweets referred to as "reposts" and tweets as "threads."
Meta has a history of emulating rival products, such as the introduction of Instagram's Reels feature in 2020, which bore similarities to TikTok's short-form videos.
On Threads, posts can consist of up to 500 characters, compared to Twitter's limit of 280 for most users. Additionally, videos up to five minutes long can be shared, and posts can be shared as a link on other platforms. Users have the ability to unfollow, block, restrict, or report others, and they can filter out replies containing specific words.
Meta launched Threads amidst a turbulent period for Twitter, which recently imposed tweet viewing limits, partly attributing it to data harvesting by companies utilizing artificial intelligence models.
Addressing these challenges in subsequent Threads posts, Zuckerberg stated, " 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,” he wrote.
Reactions to the app's debut ranged from cautious to enthusiastic, with many praising its user-friendliness and some suggesting Elon Musk should be concerned.
Some pointed out that the app’s speedy integration with Instagram showed just how powerful Meta has become. Ironically, much of the discussion surrounding Threads took place on Twitter, where the hashtag "Threads" trended on Wednesday evening.
The news of Zuckerberg's impending unveiling of Threads supposedly led to an agreement between him and Musk to engage in a cage fight, although no date has been set for this unlikely confrontation.
Meta described Threads as a "new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations," Threads aims to “take what Instagram does best and expand that to text, creating a positive and creative space to express your ideas”.
Twitter boasts a user base of over 250 million, while Instagram reportedly has two billion users. Meta indicated that Threads would resemble Twitter's competitors like Mastodon, which operates on a decentralized platform enabling account transfers to other services.
Meta plans to make Threads compatible with ActivityPub, the technology underlying Mastodon, allowing users to migrate their accounts and followers to other ActivityPub-supported apps.
Meta said users could stop using the Threads app and transfer their content to another service that uses the same underlying technology such as Mastodon.
“Our vision is that people using compatible apps will be able to follow and interact with people on Threads without having a Threads account, and vice versa, ushering in a new era of diverse and interconnected networks.”
As with Mastodon, Meta envisages mini-communities forming with their own community standards and moderation policies.
Currently, the main feed on Threads comprises a mix of content from followed accounts and algorithm-recommended content. There are no immediate plans to allow users to limit the feed exclusively to people they follow.
To prevent high-profile username squatting, users will retain their Instagram usernames.
Considering the criticism from politicians and campaigners over the safety of children on its platform, Meta is also defaulting every UK Threads user under 18 to a private profile that can only be viewed by people the user approves.