Threads (social network)

Threads is an American social media and social networking

service owned and operated by Meta Platforms. It operates in Threads
a similar manner to other microblogging platforms such as
Twitter. Users have the ability to post and share text, images,
and videos, as well as interact with other users' posts through
replies, reposts, and likes. Threads is closely integrated with
Instagram, requiring users to have an Instagram account and
use the same handle.[5] The application is available on iOS
and Android devices with full functionality, while the web
version offers limited functionality.
Screenshot
After Elon Musk acquired Twitter, Meta employees initially
discussed the introduction of Instagram Notes, a text-based
feature for Instagram. However, they also explored the
concept of developing a separate, independent app focused
on text, which eventually led to the creation of Threads.
Development on Threads, internally known as "Project 92",
commenced in January 2023. Information about Threads was
released in March, and in June, The Verge published details
from an internal company-wide meeting. Further details about
Threads emerged in July, and the app made a pre-launch
appearance on the Apple App Store on July 3, with an official
release date of July 6.

Threads was officially launched on July 5 in one hundred

countries, although it still requires regulatory approval in the
European Union.[6] It gained 80 million users within its first
two days, surpassing the previous record set by ChatGPT and
making it the fastest-growing platform in history.[7][8][4]

History
In October 2019, Instagram introduced Threads, a separate
app available for Android and iOS. This app allowed users to
communicate through messaging and video chats, resembling
Snapchat's functionality.[9] However, Instagram discontinued
this version of Threads in December 2021.[10]

In October 2022, entrepreneur Elon Musk acquired Twitter

and announced significant changes to the platform's content The Threads account page for Wikipedia
moderation policies. As a result, many users began seeking
Type of site Social networking
alternative microblogging services like Mastodon, Tumblr,
service
and Hive Social.[11] In November 2022, Meta employees
started discussing the possibility of creating a separate app for Available in 31[1] languages
Instagram Notes, an upcoming text-based feature designed for
Instagram.[12] Development for this separate app began in List of languages
January 2023 under the codename "P92". Moneycontrol
Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) ·
obtained information about the app in March, and it was
Croatian · Czech · Danish · Dutch · English
revealed to the public in June 2023 when The Verge
· Finnish · French · German · Greek · Hindi
published details from an internal company-wide meeting at
Meta Platforms. The project, referred to as "Project 92", was · Hungarian · Indonesian · Italian ·
described by Chris Cox, the Chief Product Officer at Meta Japanese · Korean · Malay · Norwegian ·
Platforms, as their response to Twitter. The company had Polish · Portuguese · Romanian · Russian
reportedly secured commitments from some celebrities and · Slovak · Spanish · Swedish · Tagalog ·
was in talks with Oprah Winfrey and the Dalai Lama.[13] Thai · Turkish · Ukrainian · Vietnamese

In July, developer Alessandro Paluzzi tweeted about the Area served United States
release of Project 92 on the Google Play Store under the and 99 other
name Threads. However, the app was taken down shortly countries[2]
after. Paluzzi shared several screenshots of the app's (excluding the
features.[14] On July 3, Threads appeared on the Apple App European Union)[3]
Store with a release date set for July 6.[15] This launch
Owner Meta Platforms
coincided with changes on Twitter, specifically regarding the
number of tweets that could be viewed per day.[16] URL [Link] ([Link]
Additionally, an official website at [Link] was [Link])
discovered, featuring a countdown clock leading up to the Registration Required
service's launch and links to download the app. The
Users 100 million (as of July
countdown reached July 5 at 7:00 p.m. EDT,[17] and Threads
10, 2023)[4]
officially launched in one hundred countries on that day.[2]
Meta Platforms is currently awaiting regulatory approval from Launched July 5, 2023
the European Union due to concerns and uncertainties Current status Active
regarding the service's data collection policies.[2][3]
Native client(s) iOS · Android
Within a day of its launch, Threads garnered thirty million on
users, surpassing the previous record set by ChatGPT and
making it the fastest-growing platform in history.[8] On the same day, lawyers representing Twitter
threatened legal action against Meta Platforms, alleging that the company had used trade secrets to develop
the Threads app.[8]

Appearance and features

Designed as a platform for real-time conversations and sharing, Threads aims to provide users with a
similar experience to Twitter. It focuses on public, text-based posts and conversations, commonly known as
microblogging, and is closely linked to Instagram, its sister social networking service.[15] Users can create
posts consisting of up to 500 characters of text or 5 minutes of video content.[2]

Accounts

Threads accounts are closely integrated with Instagram accounts. By default, Threads and Instagram
accounts share the same username, profile picture, and display name, although the profile picture and
display name can be customized. Users can choose which accounts they follow on Instagram will carry
over to Threads, either with the other person's Threads account already created or set to automatically
follow them once an account is created. As of July 2023, if a user decides to terminate their Threads
account, they must delete their associated Instagram account as well.[18] Adam Mosseri, the CEO of
Instagram, has acknowledged this limitation and stated that they are exploring options for a user to delete
only their Threads account.[19]

If the service becomes compatible with the ActivityPub protocol, as planned,[20] Threads accounts would
be accessible through their full address, @username@[Link], by users of other fediverse platforms like
Mastodon.[21] Threads users are also expected to have control over who can reply to their posts, ensuring
that this feature remains exclusive to Threads and is not shared with any federating service.[22] Instagram's
Adam Mosseri has stated that Threads accounts will be portable, allowing users to leave and take their
followers with them.[23]

Platform availability

Threads is available on mobile clients for Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms.[24] Additionally,
there is a web front-end that enables users to access profiles and posts, although it lacks the capability to log
in and view the app's timeline.

Threads is currently unavailable in the European Union.[25] In Iran, the government has blocked Threads,
adding it to the extensive list of censored social media platforms in the country.[26] Despite being subject to
censorship by the Great Firewall in China, Threads reached the top four free social apps on the Chinese
App Store.[27]

Userbase
Since its launch, Threads has grown rapidly, reaching 100 million users after 5 days.[28][29]

Users (millions) Time since launch

2 2 hours[30]

5 4 hours[30]

10 7 hours[31]

20 12 hours[32]

30 16 hours[30]

70 2 days[33]

90 3 days[7]

100 5 days[28][29]

Litigation
Twitter has issued a legal threat against Meta's Threads app, claiming that it infringes on Twitter's
intellectual property rights. In a letter directed to Meta's CEO, Twitter's lawyer alleges that Meta has
recruited numerous former Twitter employees who had access to Twitter's trade secrets and confidential
information.[34] Meta has denied these allegations, asserting that no former Twitter employees are involved
in the Threads engineering team.[35] According to Similarweb, a data company specializing in web
analytics, Twitter's web traffic went down 5% in the first two days Threads was available for public use.[36]

See also
Bluesky Social
List of social networking services
List of most-followed Threads accounts

References
1. Noor, Saleha (July 6, 2023). "Instagram wants to take over a drama-laden Twitter with
Threads" ([Link]
hreads/). Wired. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
2. Milmo, Dan (July 6, 2023). "Threads app: Instagram owner launches Twitter rival in 100
countries" ([Link]
hreads-in-100-countries). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 ([Link]
61-3077). Archived ([Link]
com/technology/2023/jul/06/meta-launches-twitter-rival-threads-in-100-countries) from the
original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
3. Milmo, Dan (July 5, 2023). "Meta delays EU launch of Twitter rival Threads amid uncertainty
over personal data use" ([Link]
unch-of-twitter-rival-threads-amid-uncertainty-over-personal-data-use). The Guardian.
ISSN 0261-3077 ([Link] Archived ([Link]
g/web/20230705132651/[Link]
unch-of-twitter-rival-threads-amid-uncertainty-over-personal-data-use) from the original on
July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
4. Ray, Siladitya (July 10, 2023). "Threads Now Fastest-Growing App In History—With 100
Million Users In Just Five Days" ([Link]
00-million-users-in-five-days-threads-is-the-fastest-growing-app-in-history/). Forbes.
Retrieved July 10, 2023.
5. Isaac, Mike (July 5, 2023). "Threads, Instagram's 'Twitter Killer,' Has Arrived" ([Link]
[Link]/2023/07/05/technology/[Link]). The New York Times.
ISSN 0362-4331 ([Link] Archived ([Link]
g/web/20230706085325/[Link]
[Link]) from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
6. Kelly, Samantha (July 6, 2023). "Meta officially launches Twitter rival Threads. 30 million
have joined already" ([Link]
gram). CNN Business. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
7. Gomez, Dessi (July 8, 2023). "Meta's Threads Crosses 90 Million Signups in 4 Days" (http
s://[Link]/meta-threads-90-million-signups-four-days/). TheWrap. Retrieved
July 9, 2023.
8. Isaac, Mike (July 6, 2023). "Threads Becomes Most Rapidly Downloaded App, Raising
Twitter's Ire" ([Link]
l). The New York Times. Archived ([Link]
[Link]/2023/07/06/technology/[Link]) from the original on
July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
 9. Yurieff, Kaya (October 3, 2019). "Instagram takes another page from Snapchat's playbook
with new Threads app" ([Link]
[Link]). CNN Business.
10. Espósito, Filipe (November 17, 2021). "Instagram discontinuing its Threads direct
messaging app next month" ([Link]
eads-direct-messaging-app-next-month/). 9to5Mac.
11. Perez, Sarah (November 21, 2022). "Twitter alternative Hive hits 1 million users after surge
of sign-ups" ([Link]
he-u-s-app-store-after-surge-of-sign-ups/). TechCrunch. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
12. Huang, Kalley (December 7, 2022). "Twitter's Rivals Try to Capitalize on Musk-Induced
Chaos" ([Link]
html). The New York Times. Archived ([Link]
[Link]/2022/12/07/technology/[Link]) from the
original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
13. Heath, Alex (June 8, 2023). "This is what Instagram's upcoming Twitter competitor looks
like" ([Link]
ds-activitypub). The Verge. Archived ([Link]
[Link]/2023/6/8/23754304/instagram-meta-twitter-competitor-threads-activitypub)
from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
14. Davis, Wes (July 1, 2023). "Meta's Twitter competitor, Threads, briefly showed up on Google
Play" ([Link]
google-play). The Verge. Archived ([Link]
[Link]/2023/7/1/23781271/instagram-threads-twitter-leak-android-google-play)
from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
15. Isaac, Mike (July 4, 2023). "Meta's 'Twitter Killer' App Is Coming" ([Link]
023/07/03/technology/[Link]). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 (https://
[Link]/issn/0362-4331). Archived ([Link]
[Link] from the original on
July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
16. Tinoco, Armando (July 3, 2023). "Instagram's Twitter Rival Threads Appears In Apple's App
Store With Launch Date Set" ([Link]
apple-ios-app-store-launch-date-set-1235429659/). Deadline Hollywood. Archived ([Link]
[Link]/web/20230704004742/[Link]
hreads-apple-ios-app-store-launch-date-set-1235429659/) from the original on July 4, 2023.
Retrieved July 3, 2023.
17. Lawler, Richard (July 5, 2023). "The Instagram Threads launch countdown jumped forward
and is now targeting 7 PM ET" ([Link]
eads-launch-twitter-meta-countdown-7pm). The Verge. Archived ([Link]
b/20230705200756/[Link]
-twitter-meta-countdown-7pm) from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
18. "People are realising something really worrying about Threads" ([Link]
[Link]/tech/[Link]). The Independent.
July 6, 2023. Archived ([Link]
[Link]/tech/[Link]) from the
original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
19. Moon, Mariella (July 7, 2023). "Meta is working to stop deleted Threads accounts from
nuking Instagram too" ([Link]
[Link]). Engadget. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
20. Bell, Karissa. "Meta's Threads app is here to challenge Twitter" ([Link]
[Link]). Engadget. Yahoo.
Archived ([Link]
[Link]) from the original on July 6, 2023.
Retrieved July 6, 2023.
21. Warren, Tom (July 5, 2023). "Instagram's Twitter competitor, Threads, briefly went live on the
web" ([Link]
eb). The Verge. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
22. Bradshaw, Kyle (July 4, 2023). "Threads, Meta's Twitter clone, starts launch countdown, plus
a few details on how it works" ([Link]
untdown-plus-details/). 9to5Google. Archived ([Link]
6/[Link] from
the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
23. Mehta, Ivan (July 5, 2023). "Adam Mosseri says Meta's Threads app won't have ActivityPub
support at launch" ([Link]
p-wont-have-activitypub-support-at-launch/). TechCrunch. Yahoo!. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
"you may one day end up leaving Threads, or, hopefully not, end up de-platformed. If that
ever happens, you should be able to take your audience with you to another server."
24. Isaac, Mike (July 5, 2023). "Threads, Instagram's 'Twitter Killer,' Has Arrived" ([Link]
[Link]/2023/07/05/technology/[Link]). The New York Times.
ISSN 0362-4331 ([Link] Retrieved July 9, 2023.
25. Feiner, Lauren (July 6, 2023). "Threads, Meta's Twitter competitor, is not yet available in the
EU due to regulatory concerns" ([Link]
[Link]). CNBC. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
26. "Iran Blocks Public Access to Threads App; Raisi's Account Created" ([Link]
com/a/iran-blocks-public-access-to-threads-app-raisi-s-account-created-/[Link]).
VOA. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
27. "Meta's Threads tops China's App Store despite Great Firewall ban" ([Link]
tech/big-tech/article/3226962/metas-twitter-rival-threads-tops-chinas-app-store-despite-great
-firewall-censorship). South China Morning Post. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
28. Peters, Jay (July 10, 2023). "Instagram's Threads surpasses 100 million users" ([Link]
[Link]/2023/7/10/23787453/meta-instagram-threads-100-million-users-milestone).
The Verge. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
29. Ray, Siladitya. "Threads Now Fastest-Growing App In History—With 100 Million Users In
Just Five Days" ([Link]
-in-five-days-threads-is-the-fastest-growing-app-in-history/). Forbes. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
30. Isaac, Mike (July 6, 2023). "Threads Becomes Most Rapidly Downloaded App, Raising
Twitter's Ire" ([Link]
l). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 ([Link]
Retrieved July 7, 2023.
31. Ray, Siladitya. "Zuckerberg Says Threads Crossed 10 Million Signups In First Seven Hours
As Musk Rails Against Instagram" ([Link]
kerberg-says-threads-crossed-5-million-signups-in-first-four-hours-as-musk-rails-against-inst
agram/). Forbes. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
32. Schoon, Ben (July 6, 2023). "Meta's Threads passed 20 million users within 12 hours, and
it's not slowing down" ([Link]
9to5Google. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
33. "Zuckerberg claims tens of millions of Threads signups within days of launch - CBS News"
([Link]
[Link]. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
34. Fung, Brian (July 6, 2023). "Twitter threatens to sue Meta after rival app Threads gains
traction" ([Link] CNN.
Retrieved July 10, 2023.
35. Olson, Emily (July 7, 2023). "Twitter threatens to sue its new rival, Threads, claiming Meta
stole trade secrets" ([Link]
t). NPR. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
36. Capoot, Ashley (July 10, 2023). "Twitter traffic is 'tanking' as Meta's Threads hits 100 million
users" ([Link]
[Link]). CNBC. Retrieved July 10, 2023.

Further reading
Belanger, Ashley (July 6, 2023). "Threads attracts 30M users in 24 hours despite design
flaws, privacy concerns" ([Link]
sers-in-24-hours-despite-design-flaws-privacy-concerns/). Ars Technica. Retrieved July 6,
2023.

External links
Official website ([Link]
Threads ([Link] on Instagram

Retrieved from "[Link]