Threads: What is it? How do you sign up?

NEW YORK — Threads, a text-based application built by Meta to compete with Twitter, is live.

The app, advertised as a text version of Instagram, Meta’s photo-sharing platform, available on Wednesday night to users in more than 100 countries — including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Threads that, despite some initial hiccups, 30 million people had signed up by Thursday noon.

Newcomers to the platform include celebrities like Oprah, pop star Shakira, and chef Gordon Ramsay — as well as corporate accounts from Taco Bell, Netflix, Spotify, the Washington Post, and media outlets. other.

The topics, which Meta says provide “a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations,” come at a time when many topics are active. looking for Twitter alternatives to get rid of Elon Musk raucous supervision of the platform since bought it last year for $44 billion. But Meta’s new app also raises data privacy concerns and is notably not available in the European Union.

Here’s what you need to know about Themes.

The theme is currently available for download in the Apple and Google Android app stores to people in over 100 countries.

Themes are built by the Instagram team, so Instagram users can log into Themes through their Instagram accounts. By platform, your username and verification status will continue, but you’ll also have options to customize other areas of your profile — including whether you want to follow people like you do on Instagram or not.

Since Topics and Instagram are so closely linked, it’s important to be cautious with account deletion. According to Theme’s additional privacy policy, you can deactivate your profile at any time, “but your Thread profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account”.

Currently, only Instagram users can create Thread accounts. If you want to access Threads, you will have to sign up for Instagram first.

While this may get some feedback, Forrester VP and research director Mike Proulx says making Threads an Instagram extension is a smart move for Meta.

“It’s (user) curiosity at its peak,” said Proulx, noting that Instagram users are getting notifications about their followers joining Threads — making it more and more popular. There are many subscribers. “That’s one of the reasons why Threads got over 10 million subscribers in just a seven-hour period” after launch.

However, Proulx added, staying motivated and continuing to capture users’ attention beyond initial curiosity will be important – noting that “the long-term nature of streams is what ultimately matters.” will predict its success or failure.”

Threads microblogging experience is very similar to Twitter. For example, a user can repost, reply to or quote a thread and can see the number of likes and replies a post has received. “Subjects” can be up to 500 characters long — compared with Twitter’s 280 character threshold — and can include links, photos, and videos up to five minutes long.

In early replies on Threads, Zuckerberg said making the app “a friendly place” would be the key to success — adding that it was “one reason why Twitter never succeeded.” as I thought and we wanted to do it differently.”

Musk responded to some silly moves at the launch of Threads. He responded to a tweet suggesting that Meta’s app is built primarily through the use of copy and paste functionality, with a smiling emoji.

The similarities of Meta’s new text-based app suggest that the company is working to challenge Twitter directly. Chaos ownership led to a series of unpopular changes that turn off users and advertisersSome people are looking for Twitter alternatives.

The topic is the latest Twitter rival to appear in this scene after Bluesky, Mastodon and Spill.

According to Meta, Threads will use the same safety measures implemented on Instagram — including enforcing Instagram’s community guidelines and providing tools to control who can mention or reply to people. use.

Content warnings — across search queries, from conspiracy groups to COVID-19 vaccination misinformation — also look similar to Instagram.

Topics can collect a wide variety of personal information – including health, finances, contacts, browsing and search history, location data, purchases and “sensitive information,” according to details. expose its data privacy on the App Store.

The theme is also not available in the European Union right now, where there are strict data privacy rules.

Meta has informed Ireland’s Data Privacy Commission, Meta’s main privacy regulator for the EU, that it has no plans to launch Threads within the 27-nation bloc, the commission’s spokesman said. , said Graham Doyle. The company said it was working on rolling out the app to more countries – but pointed to regulatory uncertainty over the decision to delay the European launch.

Success for Threads is not guaranteed. Proulx notes that industry watchers point to Meta’s track record of starting stand-alone apps that have since been shut down — including the Instagram messaging app “Threads” that was discontinued two years after its launch in 2019.

However, Proulx and others say the new app could cause headaches for Musk and Twitter.

“The excitement around a new service and this initial boom is likely to subside. But it’s clear that this alternative still exists and will prove to be a worthy competitor to all of Twitter’s woes,” said PP Foresight technology analyst Paolo Pescatore, noting that the merger Twitter-style features with the look and feel of Instagram can spur users to get engaged.

However, Threads is still in its early stages and relies heavily on user feedback. Pescatore believes the close relationship between Instagram and Threads may not be right for everyone. The implementation of new features will also be key.

“The real test is not whether we can hype it, but whether you all find enough value in the app to continue using it over time,” said the person. Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote Thursday in a post on Threads. He also admitted, as many users did, that “a lot of the basics” were missing, including hashtags and direct messaging between users. “Full disclosure, it will take time.”

AP Technology writer Kelvin Chan contributed to this report from London.