As Twitter’s recent changes, such as limiting the number of tweets a user can read in a day and making TweetDeck exclusive to Twitter Blue subscribers, make the platform more challenging to use, all eyes are now on Threads, a Twitter-like app expected to launch for iOS on Thursday.
Rumors surrounding Threads have been circulating for months, and it is anticipated that the app will soon be available for Android as well, through Google Play. It remains uncertain if Threads will be fully accessible upon launch or if there will be any limitations on sign-ups, but more details will be revealed soon.
Threads is developed by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. While it is a standalone product, Threads is closely integrated with Instagram, allowing users to import their followers and establish an active community right from the start. However, considering that a user’s communities on Twitter and Instagram often differ, the popularity of the follower import option remains uncertain.
“Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow,” states the App Store listing. “Whatever interests you, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and like-minded individuals—or build a devoted following of your own to share your ideas, opinions, and creativity with the world.”
Meta is likely hoping that Thursday’s launch will take advantage of Twitter’s current struggles, which stem from Elon Musk’s decision to impose temporary reading limits on users. Musk claims these limits are necessary to prevent tech companies from scraping Twitter data for training their AI tools.
However, Twitter’s changes have also impacted the functionality of the web-based TweetDeck, prompting the company to push users towards a new version of the tool. Unfortunately, unverified users of TweetDeck received unfavorable news, as Twitter recently announced that starting from August 2, they will need to subscribe to the premium tier, Twitter Blue, to continue using TweetDeck.
With the disruptions occurring on Twitter since Musk’s acquisition of the platform, an increasing number of users have been seeking alternative apps. Mastodon and Bluesky have gained significant attention in recent months and reportedly experienced a surge in traffic in the past few days alone. The question now is whether Meta can successfully establish Threads as a viable competitor in the market.