Instagram users will now be able to interact with their followers in a style similar to Twitter with the launch of Meta’s – the company behind both Instagram and Facebook – new app, Threads.
Expected to officially land in the App Store and Google Play Store this week, Threads serves a new way for users to communicate with each other. Based on early images of the app that are shown as previews in the App Store, industry experts are anticipating a platform that operates much in the same way as Twitter.
Threads is described as follows in the App Store description: “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 favorite creators and others who love the same things – or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions, and creativity in the world.”
How will it work?
For current Instagram users, joining Threads should be quick and easy. Early reports indicate that users will simply download the Threads app and use the same login information as their Instagram account to log into Threads, linking the two accounts.
This means that everyone you already follow – and who follows you – will carry over from Instagram to Threads. While there will be opportunities to find new people to follow, users won’t have to start from scratch and gradually build their audiences – Instagram is making that integration happen automatically.
A web version of Threads was made live in the last few days, and before Meta shut it down, users could see some of the features that are similar to both Instagram and Twitter. For starters, your profile on Threads will include a direct link to your Instagram profile, making it easy to toggle between the two.
Additionally, accounts that are verified will still feature a blue checkmark on Threads. Similar to Twitter, Threads will allow users to control who can respond to individual threads, ensuring that information stays between specific accounts.
Users on Threads will also be able to use a lot of the features that have become popular on Instagram and Twitter: reposting, threads, commenting, and sending threads to other people or groups you follow.
So far, some celebrities, Meta executives, and well-known brands have started accounts on Threads. Gordon Ramsay, Shakira, Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, Instagram the brand, Netflix, and several others are early adopters.
Not going to be available in the EU
When Threads officially launches in the App Store and the Google Play Store, it will be available in the United States and the United Kingdom. However, Instagram users in the European Union (EU) are likely going to have to wait a bit longer.
Because of privacy-sharing laws in the EU, Threads is being put on hold. The new app shares users’ advertising and behavioral information from Instagram to its own platform, which violates some of the cybersecurity laws in place overseas.