Instagram's Threads: Is It A Promising Twitter Alternative?

Threads, an Instagram app is a separate platform for sharing text updates and joining public conversation but there is a major catch in its account deletion process.

29 July 2023 5:30 PM IST

Surbhi Sharma

| 29 July 2023 5:30 PM IST

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Instagrams Threads: Is It A Promising Twitter Alternative?

The online world was abuzz on Thursday morning as Meta dropped its latest product - Threads. The newly launched app by Meta crossed 30 million sign ups within 16 hours of being launched. Being hailed as Twitter's rival, Threads has been developed by the Instagram team for sharing text updates primarily.

"Let's do this. Welcome to Threads," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in his first post on Threads on Thursday.

Zuckerberg referred to Threads as an "open and friendly space for conversation" that intends to take the best parts of Instagram in order to provide a new experience for texts and ideas. While it is yet to be seen if Threads is able to outperform Twitter, the app may have already taken a lead against Jack Dorsey's Bluesky - another potential Twitter alternative - owing to its large Instagram user base and no waitlist policy.

Threads has launched at a time when users are unhappy with Twitter's push for the paid subscription and updates regarding rate limits.

Can Zuckerberg's newest launch trump Elon Musk's Twitter?� Here's take a look at Threads' features and its advantages.

Introducing Threads: All You Need To Know

Available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store in over 100 countries, including India,

"Let's do this. Welcome to Threads," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in his first post on Threads on Thursday.

Threads has launched at a time when users are unhappy with Twitter's push for the paid subscription and updates regarding rate limits.

Can Zuckerberg's newest launch trump Elon Musk's Twitter? Here's take a look at Threads' features and its advantages.

Introducing Threads: All You Need To Know

Available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store in over 100 countries, including India, Threads, an Instagram app is a separate platform for sharing text updates and joining public conversations.

Threads (iPhone screenshots) Source: Apple Play Store

Users need to have an Instagram account to create a profile on Threads and can choose to import data from Instagram in the next step. This is being seen as a huge advantage as it will give Threads a head start due to Instagram's large existing user base of over 1.21 billion monthly. The Instagram username and verification will transfer to Threads which means, if you are a verified user on Instagram, you'll automatically have a blue tick on Threads too.

Similar to Twitter, one gets to choose if they wish to keep their profile public or private, irrespective of whether their profile on Instagram is public or not. For public profiles, anyone on or off Threads can see, share and interact with the content. If one opts for a private account, only approved followers are allowed to see and interact. Individuals who are under 16 years old (or under 18 in specific countries) will automatically have a private profile as the default setting.

Users will also be able to choose to follow the same accounts they do on Instagram with just one click before joining the platform. Hidden words can also be added, just like Instagram to filter out replies to threads that contain specific words. Users can further choose to unfollow, block, restrict or report a profile on Threads by tapping the three-dot menu. Any accounts that have been blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads too.

The 'Take a break' feature on Threads is a good addition, for those who need a timely reminder to take a break from social media. Users can go to the account settings to schedule a reminder.

Take a Break (Source: Threads)

Where Does It Stand In Comparison To Twitter?

Threads is very similar to what Twitter used to be a few years ago. It is easy to use and access. Meta has used features such as like, retweet (which is called repost on Threads), share, and reply, features very similar to Twitter. There are some additional features too. Not just repost, but posts on Threads can be shared to Instagram stories as well.

Threads on Instagram stories Users can share an individual's post on their Instagram story as well.

Hashtags, which have been an indispensable part of social media platforms, including Twitter, are surprisingly not a part of Threads, at least not yet, and nor are post searches. However, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram suggested that hashtags will soon be "tappable" on Threads too.

Posts on Threads can be up to 500 characters in length and can include links, photos, and videos with a duration of up to five minutes. On the other hand, unverified Twitter users can share a tweet with a maximum of 280 characters and videos up to 140 seconds.

Another point of distinction between the two apps, as of now, is the absence of the bookmark option on Threads. Unlike Twitter, users will also not be able to the number of views and reposts on a specific post on Threads.

While Twitter's homepage offers trending topics and personalised recommendations, the only way to explore Threads is currently limited to scrolling through the home feed. In a blog post, Meta said that "soon we'll be adding a number of new features to help you continue to discover threads and creators you're interested in, including improved recommendations in feed and a more robust search function that makes it easier to follow topics and trends in real time."

Threads also currently does not have any alternative for Twitter's 'Like' tab, which allowed users to see the post that a profile has liked in the past.

While Threads doesn't have several Twitter features like content labelling (for misinformation), it was able to garner a lot of attention. This could perhaps be linked to how Twitter users have been critical of the subscription model and had been hoping for an alternative to move to.

Threads, unlike Twitter, is free for all users and does not provide any preferential treatment to those with verified accounts.

Considering Threads is developed by Meta, a renowned player in the social media realm, the likelihood of incorporating missing Twitter features, as well as introducing valuable additions, remains high in the coming days.

Points Of Concern

A key concern about Threads is the data collected by the app. The app info for Threads, provided on Google Play Store and Apple's App Store by Instagram Inc, said it collects data related to health and fitness, financial information, usage data, location, among other sensitive information.

Jack Dorsey, former Twitter CEO and Bluesky co-founder, also raised privacy concerns surrounding the app, by sharing a screenshot of the list of data that Threads uses. Twitter owner and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, too expressed his reservations and commented "Yeah" on Dorsey's tweet.

All your Threads are belong to us https://t.co/FfrIcUng5O pic.twitter.com/V7xbMOfINt
- jack (@jack) July 4, 2023

Musk-owned Twitter also tracks user data related to purchases, location, contact info, and location, among others.

Data used by Twitter (Source: App Store)

Another big catch in Meta's Threads lies in its account deletion process. Users can easily delete individual posts and deactivate their account temporarily but if a user wishes to delete their Threads account, they will also have to bid adieu to their Instagram account.

Twitter Vs Threads: A War Of Words

Soon after Threads launch, arch-rivals Musk and Zuckerberg shared their views about each other's platform. Zuckerberg, returned to Twitter after 11 years, to share a meme featuring Spiderman, thus announcing the launch of Twitter's alternative, Threads.

pic.twitter.com/MbMxUWiQgp
- Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) July 6, 2023

Musk soon made a comeback by replying to a tweet that showed that he had left Instagram, back in 2018. " It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram," his tweet read.

It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter, than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 6, 2023

Way Forward

Despite experiencing a significant decrease of $70 billion in Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's net worth last year, followed by multiple rounds of job cuts at Meta in March 2023 due to declining revenue growth, this new app is a big win for the tech giant.

The launch of the new app prompted Meta's shares to rise by 3% on Wednesday, recording a 52-week high. Zuckerberg too, rose to the 9th spot (from the 20th spot last year) in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of July 6.

As for Threads, going forward, Meta plans to create a network that will give users an option to transfer their content to another service for which it would be working toward making Threads compatible with the ActivityPub protocol. Following a decentralised approach, Threads is Meta's first app that is designed to be compatible with an open social networking protocol.

Upcoming versions of Threads will work with a new type of social media network, the fediverse, that will allow people to follow and interact with each other on different platforms such as Mastodon, the about section of the app said.

Updated On: 7 July 2023 6:00 AM IST

Author: Surbhi Sharma

Threads, an Instagram app is a separate platform for sharing text updates and joining public conversation but there is a major catch in its account deletion process.