In less than 72 hours from launching, Instagram’s Threads has garnered millions of logins. Close to 30 million users joined the app within the first 18 hours of its’ launch, which connects to your Instagram credentials once you sign up. For the time being, the app will run with no ads, although we doubt that that will be the case for long. We run through all the similarities and stark differences between Threads and Twitter, the two rival apps.
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How do Twitter and Threads face off?
· Both apps are based on short-texts. What Twitter calls a tweet and retweet, Thread calls threads and reposts.
· Threads allows users up to 500 characters, which is double the length of a tweet. Users are able to share links, photos, and videos up to five minutes long. Threads allows you to share up to 10 items in a single post, allowing users to swipe through.
· While Twitter lets users message each other directly, Threads doesn’t have a direct message option.
· Threads collects much more data on its users than Twitter does, raising concerns on users’ privacy.
· Threads’ feed is algorithmic, while Twitter’s feed is optional, and can be algorithmic or chronological.
· Threads is pushing for decentralization. In other words, they are hoping that their content can translate across platforms and different apps.
· In order to delete your Threads account, you’re required to delete your Instagram account. Another option is to deactivate your account, which allows you to access your profile once again when you reactivate it.
· While Twitter is an app and a website, Threads is currently only an app.
Although there are minor differences, Threads is definitely inspired by the model Twitter laid out years ago. A potential lawsuit against Meta could happen, as Twitter believes that Meta has violated their intellectual property rights. On Thursday, Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk tweeted, “Competition is fine, cheating is not.”
The app has officially launched in more than 100 countries, but Meta’s Threads is not yet available in the European Union due to the legality and regulations of data collection, and more specifically, the Digital Markets Act.
“It’ll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with one billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully, we will,” Zuckerberg said in a Threads post. With Instagram’s audience of 2 billion, and Twitter’s slow demise, Threads already has an upper hand.
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