Threads: What to know about Meta’s Twitter alternative

Are we witnessing the death of Twitter? Rival Meta hopes so.

Facebook owner Meta has launched a new social media platform to rival Twitter.

Announced in June, Threads launched on July 6 with Meta director Mark Zuckerberg claiming that 10 million users have signed up in the first seven hours of the app's launch.

Why did Meta make Threads?

Twitter has been in a state of flux since Tesla boss and billionaire Elon Musk acquired the social media platform last October. On July 1, Musk announced that Twitter was introducing temporary measures to address “data scraping”, which is when information is pulled from a website and recorded in a spreadsheet.

These measures will affect the majority of Twitter’s user base by limiting how many posts can be read per day. Unverified accounts can only view 600 posts per day, while verified accounts have a limit of 10,000 posts per day.

Threads has officially launched. Image: Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The restrictions have caused users to be locked out of Twitter after scrolling through several hundred tweets, with services such as TweetDeck only to be available for paid users as a result. The application, which allows users to manage multiple feeds and searches, will only be accessible to verified users in 30 days.

While the restrictions are only temporary, Meta has been anticipating issues with Twitter for some time with plans for Threads revealed in June.

It is the latest chapter in the rivalry between Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, two of the world’s most high-profile billionaires, who last month agreed to a cage fight in an exchange that went viral on social media.

Zuckerberg shared his first post on Twitter in ten years as the app launched, poking fun at Musk.

However, Twitter is considering taking legal action against Meta over the app based on intellectual property rights. Musk tweeted, in reply to a post on the matter, that "competition is fine, cheating is not".

There are also concerns surrounding the data which Meta will record from Threads users, which the Apple App Store warns may include health, financial, and browsing data linked to users' identities.

Threads is available in more than 100 countries - but not within the EU, due to regulatory concerns surrounding the EU's Digital Markets Act, which controls how companies (such as Meta) can share data between platforms they own.

What is Threads?

Now available across the UK, the Meta Twitter alternative is billed as “Instagram's text-based conversation app”.

The description states: “Threads is 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 favourite 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.”

Users will be able to log into Threads using their Instagram account, with the option of following the same accounts. Verification - a hot topic on Twitter - will carry over from any official Instagram accounts, with the option to customise any account for Threads.

The app is free to use, and its design is eerily similar to Twitter, though with the familiar Instagram icons and fonts also popping up. One difference is that unlike Twitter, there is no header image available to customise on user profiles, just the standard profile picture.

Unlike Twitter, on Threads there are no header images on user profiles.

Any users under the age of 16 (or 18 in some countries) will be defaulted to a private profile when they join, though it does appear that users will set that information when they first set up their account.

You can also choose to continue following the same accounts you do on Instagram, with core features of that app such as screen reader support and AI image descriptions also enabled.

What will appear on your Threads feed?

As you can choose the accounts to already follow on Threads, the app's feed will function similarly to Instagram. It will include threads posted by people you follow, and recommended content. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length.

Share your point of view: Threads by Instagram will offer users an alterative to Twitter.

The app's connection to Instagram means you can easily share a Threads post to your Instagram story, or share your post as a link on any other platform you choose.

Furthermore, Threads promises to be compatible with ActivityPub, an open social networking protocol established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Meta's plans mean that they will make Threads interoperable, which would let users take their accounts and followers to other ActivityPub-supported apps, such as Mastodon and Wordpress, with social media network Tumblr also planning to support ActivityPub protocol in the future.

What can users control?

According to Meta, Threads was built "with tools to enable positive, productive conversations".

Instagram's Community Guidelines will apply on Threads and users can control who can mention or reply to you, alongside filter replies to your threads which contains specific words.

Any accounts blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads, and users have the same ability to block, restrict or report profiles.

You can only delete Threads if you delete your Instagram account

Be warned though, if you're signing up to see what the fuss is about you can only delete your Threads profile if you delete Instagram.

Because Threads is an Instagram app, if you want to delete your profile and data you must delete your entire Instagram account.

It should also be made clear that if you deactivate your Instagram account, your Threads profile will also be deactivated - however, you can deactivate your Threads account with no repercussions for your perfectly curated Instagram profile.

What are other Twitter alternatives?

Threads is the latest Twitter alternative to pop up, and with the backing of Meta it is likely to be its biggest competition.

Zuckerberg has been known to borrow ideas from other companies, such as Reels – essentially Meta’s version of TikTok – and Stories.

Meta have announced Twitter alternative Threads. Image: Meta

However there are several other platforms also heavily influenced by Twitter.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sits on the board of Bluesky Social, an invite-only “decentralised” app which essentially functions as a network of social media platforms. Bluesky claims to have experienced "record" traffic after restrictions on Twitter were announced.

Mastodon is broadly similar to Twitter. Image: AFP/Getty

There is also “micro-blogging site” Mastodon, which presents a timeline of “toots” instead of tweets and Spill, an app founded by former Twitter employees who were let go during layoffs by Musk.

Many of Musk’s changes to Twitter have been controversial and with Meta’s substantial user base across Instagram, Threads has a real chance of disrupting the status quo.