adminSAN FRANCISCO. – Ten million users signed up for Meta’s newly launched Threads app 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.
Earlier, Zuckerberg said keeping the platform “friendly… will ultimately be the key to its success”.
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.”
Competitors have criticised 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.
Some users have also expressed concern that it is not possible to delete your Threads profile without deleting the associated Instagram profile. Meta told the BBC: “At this time, you can’t delete your Threads profile without deleting your Instagram account. This is something we’re working on. In the meantime, you can deactivate your Threads profile at any time.
“Deactivating your Threads profile will not deactivate your Instagram account”.
Deactivation will mean your Threads profile, your posts and interactions with others’ posts won’t be visible, the firm added.
Users can download and delete Threads data by visiting their Instagram settings, Meta says.
Threads is now available to download in over 100 countries including the UK, but not yet in the EU because of regulatory concerns.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, called the new app an “initial version”, with extra features planned including the ability to interact with people on other social media apps like Mastodon.
“Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text,” the firm said prior to its launch.
Despite Threads being a standalone app, users log in using an Instagram account. Their Instagram username carries over, but there is an option to customize their profile specifically for Threads.
Users will also be able to choose to follow the same accounts they do on Instagram, Meta says.
The app allows users to be private on Instagram, but public on Threads. – BBC
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter