Meta plans to launch a Twitter-rivalling microblogging app ‘Threads’

Meta Platforms plans to launch a microblogging app called Threads that competes with Twitter. days after Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced a temporary cap on the number of posts users can read on the social media site.

A listing on Apple’s App Store revealed that Threads, which is anticipated to be released on Thursday, will enable users to keep the same username and maintain Instagram followers.

The rollout addresses an immediate test to Twitter, which has confronted various debates since Musk purchased the organization for $44 billion of every 2022.

A number of users on the platform expressed outrage when the Tesla billionaire announced a slew of new restrictions for the app, including a daily limit on the number of tweets that could be viewed.

Since Musk’s acquisition, alternative microblogging sites like Blue Sky and Mastodon have seen an increase in user numbers, but neither has been able to compete with Twitter.

However, Instagram has a history of introducing new features based on the success of other social media companies and already has hundreds of millions of registered users.

In response to Snapchat’s growing popularity, it added a feature called “stories” to Instagram in 2016. Stories are user posts that disappear after a predetermined amount of time.

The company’s short-form video feature “Reels” has recently attempted to confront TikTok’s rise.

The launch of Threads is a real threat to Twitter under Musk, who has been heavily criticized for his efforts to increase revenue and remake the platform in his own image.

He reactivated several banned accounts, including those belonging to conservative satirical news site Babylon Bee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, after acquiring the company late last year and laying off approximately 80% of employees.

Hundreds of advertisers, worried by an apparent ascent in hurtful substance on the stage, stopped enjoying with Twitter, and inward records seen by Reuters showed the stage’s most dynamic clients becoming separated.