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Meta, the parent-company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus, launched its Twitter clone on Wednesday, after a ton of hype. A lot of that hype was manufactured by Twitter owner, Elon Musk, as he continues to tear apart the site. The latest straw in favor of Threads was actually limiting how many tweets people could read in a day.
That got a lot of people interested in alternatives. If you take a look at this image from Google Trends, you’ll see a huge spike for alternatives like Bluesky, Mastodon and Threads.
This forced Meta to push up their launch of Threads, and it officially launched on July 5. It’s pretty bare bones right now, but that will change over time. In the first 30 hours, Threads had over 55 million users sign up. Which is pretty incredible, compared to Twitters 450 million users that took nearly 15 years to sign up.
In this article, we’re going to share with you everything that you need to know about Threads, and why it’s tied to Instagram.
What is Threads?
Threads is a new micro-blogging app, set to rival Twitter. This has been a popular thing on the internet ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter back in October of 2022. However, if there’s a company that can dethrone Twitter, it’s likely Meta.
With Threads, users are able to post messages that are up to 500 characters long. You can include text, pictures, GIFs, emojis and more. Though there are some workarounds for these. Like having to copy/paste a GIF from another app to get it to work. You can also post videos up to 5 minutes long, and it even supports 4K resolution.
Meta does allow users to keep their Threads account public or private if they wish. Even if their Instagram account is the opposite.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, stated that “the vision for Threads is to create an option and friendly public space for conversation. We hope to take what Instagram does best and create a new experience around text, ideas, and discussing what’s on your mind.”
Why is Threads tied to Instagram?
Threads is tied very closely to Instagram, and it’s not hard to see why. Facebook has kind of been tainted over the years, especially after the past few presidential elections. Which has kept the younger generation off of Facebook. But for Instagram, it’s the opposite. The younger generation prefers Instagram, and so tying Threads to Instagram was the perfect way to go.
By tying it to Instagram, Meta made it super easy to sign up for Threads. And it’s also super easy to gain thousands of followers right off the bat. As you can follow everyone you followed on Instagram, on Threads now.
But there are also some downsides to it being tied to Instagram. For example, you can’t change your handle on Threads, and it is the same handle as Instagram. You also can’t delete your Threads account (you can deactivate it though), without deleting your Instagram account.
How do you sign up for Threads?
Because Meta made Threads so closely tied to Instagram, signing up for Threads is a breeze. Firstly, you’ll need to download the app (App Store and on Google Play).
Next, open the app. You should see your Instagram account there. Tap on the button that says “Log in with Instagram [account name]”.
Next, you’re going to create your profile. It will automatically bring over your name and username, but you can opt for a different bio and link. Or you can tap on the “Import from Instagram” button to bring that over as well.
Threads will now ask you if you want your profile to be public or private. Similar to how it works on Instagram.
The final step is going to be deciding if you want to follow everyone you follow on Instagram. You can pick and choose who you want to follow, or just mass-follow everyone.
The final step is telling you more about Threads and the Federverse. Remember, Threads does use the ActivityPub protocol, a lot like Mastodon does. So this will allow you to take your profile to other services if need be. Just click “Join Thread” and in a few seconds you’ll be on-board.
Where is Threads available?
Meta has launched Threads in over 100 countries, and it’s available in over 30 languages on both iOS and Android.
The major caveat here is that it is not available in the European Union right now, due to the privacy issues it poses. That will likely change. It’s also available in China for now, that will likely change as every other US-based app has been banned in the country.
Are there ads?
Surprisingly, Threads is ad-free, at least for now. Both Mosseri and Zuckerberg have stated that ads aren’t the priority right now. Zuck went on to talk about how they want to build out this platform and get it to a billion users before they put ads onto the platform. So this could be ad-free for quite some time. Though at the rate that Threads is growing, that really might only be a couple months away.
However, this being ad-free has made the service a lot nicer to use, as well as much better on battery compared to Facebook and Instagram.
What data is Threads collecting?
When Threads was first showing up on the App Store and Play Store, there was a lot of talk about what data this app is collecting. And it seems like it’s collecting everything. Here’s what the listing looks like on the App Store, for the data it’s collecting:
The data looks pretty similar on the Android side of things as well. Threads is literally collecting everything here. And the permissions look the same on other Meta apps too like Facebook and Instagram. So it really shouldn’t be a big surprise.
Can I be verified on Threads?
Yes! You can be verified through Meta Verified. It will carry over from your Instagram account to Threads. Keep in mind that Meta Verified does cost $14.99 per month, so it is more expensive than Twitter Blue, and doesn’t offer as many features, honestly.
What features are missing from Threads?
As mentioned before, there’s quite a few features missing from Threads right now. It’s still a pretty bare bones product, but that will change over time. As Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri has repeatedly stated on Threads, many things have been added to the list of things to add. That includes a web-based app that you can use on desktop. As well as a following feed, instead of the jumbled mess that we currently have.
No real Search
Currently, there’s no real search available for Threads. There’s a search tab, but it’s only for searching for accounts. This means you can’t search for specific posts, nor see trending topics. Something that is a key part of Twitter, and how Twitter has been synonymous with being real-time news.
However, it is on the way, so it should arrive sooner rather than later.
No desktop version
In what really makes it look like this was rushed, is the Threads.net website. It’s up and running, but pretty useless. If you go to threads.net right now, you see a splash screen telling you to download the app with a QR Code. You can follow direct links to profiles and posts, but all you can do is view them.
Threads really needs to give us a desktop version for it to take off. Most people spend a lot of time at their computer, on Twitter, and their web app is actually the most used Twitter app. Threads says that it is on the way.
There’s plenty more missing from Threads, but we’ll leave it at this for now. As things are likely to change very quickly here.
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