In a bold move to compete with Twitter, Instagram’s highly anticipated application, Threads, has just been released on the iOS App Store in the U.S. The app, which is set to officially launch on July 6, has come at a prime moment for Instagram to join the competitive social media landscape.
The past weekend, which saw Twitter struggling with rate-limit errors, marked a period of considerable growth for rival platforms such as Spill, Bluesky, and Post.
Instagram’s Threads, however, could have a distinct advantage. Unlike other platforms where users must build a community from scratch, Threads allows users to seamlessly transition their existing Instagram following and follower lists. This feature ensures that users maintain their pre-established communities right from the beginning.
A new platform for communities?
Threads is designed to be a platform where communities converge to discuss a wide range of topics, from daily interests to the trends of tomorrow, as stated in its App Store description.
Users can connect directly with their favorite creators and fellow enthusiasts, or even cultivate their own following to share their ideas, creativity, and perspectives.
Despite being closely linked with Instagram, Threads is intended to function as its own stand-alone app. The limited information provided in the App Store listing suggests that users can interact with posts through likes, comments, reposts, and shares.
Additionally, the app allows users to specify their preferred audience for post responses—be it everyone, people they follow, or only those mentioned in the post.
The introduction of Threads has not been much of a surprise, as details about the app have been gradually revealed over the past few months. An Instagram spokesperson has previously described Threads as a “decentralized” platform.
This is further supported by leaked slides from a meeting with top creators, which indicated that Threads would be compatible with the decentralized network ActivityPub-based Mastodon. However, as Instagram is a centralized app, it remains to be seen how this decentralization aspect will pan out.
Meta, the company behind Instagram, has not always seen success with its side apps. Over the years, it has discontinued several products including the anonymous teen app tbh, the Cameo-like app Super, Nextdoor clone Neighborhoods, the couples app Tuned, the student-focused social network Campus, the video dating service Sparked, and more.
However, Threads is debuting at a moment that could potentially take advantage of Twitter’s ongoing missteps. Ultimately, it will be up to users to determine whether they want Meta to dictate yet another aspect of their social media experience.