New Meta Threads website goes live temporarily ahead of app launch
The public got their first look at Twitter Meta’s new competitor, Threads.
A post from Mark Zuckerberg on his account about the new app, which is set to launch on Thursday, was briefly visible on Wednesday morning. Matt Navarra, Social Media Consultant, posted a screenshot of the Twitter post, which was also seen by NBC News.
“Let’s do it. Welcome to Threads,” the account posted. The post was unavailable to the public minutes later.
The CEO of Meta too posted a story on his Instagram account triggering the next application launch.
On Instagram, the Homepage of Threads on Wednesday displayed a live countdown to the app’s expected release, along with a QR code that redirects users to the app’s page in Apple’s app store. Users can also access a Threads invite through the Instagram app.
From the brief website preview posted on Instagram, Threads appears to have similar functionality to Twitter. Users can post content and share, repost, and comment on other people’s posts.
Threads will be introduced in the US and UK, but Meta will reportedly delay launch in the European Union until EU regulators clarify the bloc’s data privacy laws. Meta is the parent company of Instagram and Facebook.
Usernames and profile pictures on Threads appear to be identical to users’ Instagram profiles, but apparently their followers won’t automatically transfer between the two platforms. For example, Zuckerberg’s Threads account had around 1,800 followers, while his Instagram account has more than 11 million followers, according to the briefly seen post.
The launch of Meta Threads comes as Twitter continues a tumultuous run under the ownership of Elon Musk.
A series of changes implemented abruptly over the weekend, including limiting the number of posts Twitter users can read in a day, coincided with thousands of users reporting that the site’s main service was unavailable.
Threads will join a growing batch of smaller Twitter alternatives that have sprung up, including Bluesky and Mastodon, though none have the built-in audience of Instagram.
Beyond the corporate competition, Musk and Zuckerberg also have a burgeoning personal clash in the making. Zuckerberg and Musk have said they are ready for a cage fight against each other.
