Meta’s Instagram-linked Twitter rival ‘Threads’ could arrive on July 6
We’ve known for a long time that Meta has been building a Twitter competitor, but now we have a more solid idea of when it will be available. A listing for the app called Threads has appeared in the iOS App Store with an estimated release date of July 6. In May, a report came out saying that the microblogging service was nearing completion and could be out as early as the end of June. While a late June launch didn’t quite happen, the app could come at a time when Twitter users are more willing (and maybe even eager) to try an alternative.
Twitter recently put a cap on how many tweets an unverified account can read per day. In a post, Elon Musk announced that verified accounts — which translates to paying users — can read 6,000 posts a day, while unverified/non-paying users can only read 600. He said the site is adopting the measure to “address extreme levels of data scraping [and] system manipulation.”[ads1]; A typical user can easily reach 600 posts, so people who haven’t paid $8 to $11 a month for blue tick have been banned from their feeds as a result.
Meta describes Threads as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app”. Based on the screenshots posted in the listing, users can keep their Instagram handle and follow the same accounts they follow on the photo-sharing platform. That means users will have a pre-existing following and circles on the new app, giving it an edge over other Twitter rivals. Users will also be able to choose the privacy of their posts and make them visible to everyone, to the profiles they follow or only to the accounts they mention. They will also be able to heart, send and share other people’s posts.
Earlier reports said Meta’s Twitter competitor would be a decentralized service compatible with Mastodon, but it’s unclear if that’s still the case when it launches. We’ll find out in a few days.
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