Meta announces Twitter competitor 'Threads'

Meta has launched 'Threads,' a microblogging service designed to compete with Elon Musk's platform, as the latest salvo in its battle with Twitter.

The app, which is modeled after Twitter, is available for download for Android and iOS in 100 countries, including India. Threads allows users to link in with their Instagram account and follow the same accounts that they follow on Instagram. It also has larger character restrictions, allowing for longer posts of up to 500 characters. In the first four hours, the app received five million sign-ups.

While it appears to be very similar to Twitter, Threads uses a distinct name for functionality. Tweets are referred to as "threads," and retweets are referred to as "reposts."

When asked if Threads will overtake Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, 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 so, but has failed to do so. We can only hope."

Threads' web version briefly went live on July 5, but was later removed.

Thread reactions appear to be a mix of praise and dissatisfaction. Threads has also been chastised for the amount of data it may collect from users, including their health, financial, and browsing information. 

The debut also coincides with an imminent "cage fight" between Zuckerberg and Twitter founder Elon Musk.