Threads: Instagram launches app to rival Twitter; logs 5 million users in first hours

Instagram, a photo and video sharing social networking app owned by American company Meta Platforms, has launched Threads, a new app for sharing text updates and joining public conversations.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has said that the company’s newly-launched Threads app aims to rival Twitter. He further said that the app logged five million users in its first four hours of operation. 

The Threads app allows social media users to post up to 500 characters. The app has many features similar to the micro-blogging site, Twitter. Any videos of up to five minutes in length can be uploaded on Threads, while a post can be shared as a link on other social media platforms.

The app debuted at 7 pm EDT (Eastern Time Zone) in the United States and midnight in the United Kingdom. The app is available in 100 countries. However, it is not available in the European Union (EU) because of regulatory concerns.

Only Instagram users can log into the thread app. The app is available on the Apple and Google app stores. 

Meta chief said, “I think there should be a public conversations app with over 1 billion people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully we will.”

Before launching the app, the Meta company said, “Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text.”

On Wednesday, some users reported problems while uploading images on Threads. However, some users were able to upload images. 

Some investors and analysts described the new app as a “Twitter killer.” Experts claimed that Threads can attract Twitter users who were unhappy with recent changes on the micro-blogging site. 

Since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, many users have publicly criticized the recent changes on the platform.