Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, plans to launch Threads, a Twitter-rivalling microblogging app, just days after Twitter CEO Elon Musk drew criticism for announcing a temporary limit on how many posts users can read on the social media site.
Facebook plans to launch Threads like Twitter
Threads is set to be released on Thursday and will allow users to keep their Instagram followers while keeping the same username, according to a listing on Apple’s App Store.
The launch is a direct challenge to Twitter, which has been embroiled in numerous controversies since Musk purchased the company for $44 billion in 2022.
Last week, the Tesla billionaire announced a slew of new restrictions on the app, including a limit on the number of tweets users could view per day, sparking outrage from many users.
While user numbers on alternative microblogging sites such as Mastodon and Blue Sky have increased since Musk’s acquisition, neither has been able to challenge Twitter.
However, Instagram already has hundreds of millions of registered users and a track record of introducing new features based on the success of other social media companies.
In response to the growing popularity of Snapchat, Instagram added a feature called “stories” in 2016, or user posts that disappear after a set amount of time. More recently, the company’s short-form video feature “Reels” has attempted to counter TikTok’s rise.
Threads’ launch represents a credible threat to Twitter under Musk, whose efforts to boost revenue and reshape the platform in his own image have been heavily criticized.
He laid off roughly 80% of the company’s employees after acquiring it late last year and reinstated a number of banned accounts, including those of former US President Donald Trump and conservative satirical news site Babylon Bee.
Concerned about a perceived increase in harmful content on the platform, hundreds of advertisers paused spending with Twitter, and internal documents obtained by Reuters revealed that the platform’s most active users were becoming disengaged.
A Reuters request for comment on a similar launch on the Google Play Store was not immediately responded to. Reuters reached out to Twitter for comment.
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