Meta clones Twitter: Threads is here

Samuel Buchmann

6.7.2023

Translation: machine translated

500-character texts, photos and videos: The new Instagram offshoot "Threads" works on the same principle as Twitter. Meta's platform has now been launched in over 100 countries, not including Switzerland and the EU.

Twitter chaos as a cause

This is not the first time that Meta has taken up the principle of competing platforms and copied it almost one-to-one. Instagram Stories was already a clone of Snapchat, Reels a copy of TikTok.

(Still) no connection to decentralised protocol

Threads are not connected to ActivityPub at the start. ActivityPub is a decentralised protocol for social networks that is used by Mastodon, among others. This means that different platforms are compatible with each other. For example, a post on Mastodon would also be visible on Threads and vice versa.

Adam Mosseri is fuelling hopes that Threads will soon be connected to the protocol. "We believe the decentralised principle will play an important role in the future of online platforms," he says. "Threads is Meta's first app designed to be compatible with an open protocol for social networks."

Ten million registrations in seven hours

The launch of Threads also appears to be a success: According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, ten million users have already signed up in the first seven hours. That's a lot - but it will probably be a while before Threads catches up with Twitter. Elon Musk's platform has almost 400 million users worldwide.

Samuel Buchmann

Senior Editor

Samuel.Buchmann@digitecgalaxus.ch

My fingerprint often changes so drastically that my MacBook doesn't recognise it anymore. The reason? If I'm not clinging to a monitor or camera, I'm probably clinging to a rockface by the tips of my fingers.

---

News + Trends

From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.

Show all