Meta’s newest app can now be accessed with an Instagram account and looks a lot like its rival.
Five million people signed up for Threads, Meta’s answer to Twitter, in the four hours after its launch on Thursday, according to boss Mark Zuckerberg.
Check out 7 things to expect from it?
How does Threads work?
Threads allows you to sign up using your Instagram login, and you’ll be able to follow all the accounts you already follow on Instagram on Threads automatically as they join.
You can send posts of up to 500 characters, include images, gifs, and videos of up to five minutes in length.
It looks a lot like Twitter – short text-based pieces of content, likes and reposts. You can quote a thread similar to quote tweeting.
Can I send DMs?
No direct message right now.
Can I keep my Instagram account private and my Threads account public?
Yes, if you want to keep your Instagram more personal you can keep it locked down and have Threads public. Though if you’re under 16, the Threads account, like Instagram, is private by default.
You can make Threads private at any time, and also choose who can reply to your posts on Threads.
How can I access it?
Currently you can access Threads only via the iOS or Android apps. There is no desktop version at this stage, and Meta could not say when it might make one available.
Can I get a different username?
For now, Meta is letting people log in using only their Instagram login, and you’ll keep the username you have on that account for Threads. This is good news for accounts that might be worried someone could grab their username.
No, but Meta wants the app to be similar to rivals like Mastodon, and be decentralised and allow users to transfer accounts to other platforms.
The company is working to make Threads compatible with ActivityPub which allows social networks to be interoperable and would let users of Threads take their accounts and followers to other ActivityPub-supported apps.
What’s the moderation like?
It’s basically what you’d find on Instagram. That means it’ll be stricter than Twitter around things like nudity, and will enforce content rules around hate speech.