instagram Threads A New Way to Share with Text by Meta
instgram Threads is a new app developed by the Instagram team, designed for sharing text updates and engaging in public conversations.
Users can log in using their Instagram account.
Posts on Threads can be up to 500 characters long, including links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length.
Meta is working on making Threads compatible with open, interoperable social networks to help shape the future of the internet.
Threads, announced by Mark Zuckerberg, is an app built by the Instagram team, aiming to create a separate space for real-time updates and public conversations. It is designed to expand Instagram’s features from photo and video sharing to text-based content, offering a positive and creative space for users to express their ideas.
On Threads, users can follow and connect with friends and creators who share their interests, both from Instagram and other platforms. The app also includes Instagram’s existing safety and user controls, ensuring a secure and user-friendly experience.
Threads makes it simple for Instagram users to join the platform:
- Easy login: Use your Instagram account to log in to Threads. Your Instagram username and verification will carry over, with the option to customize your profile specifically for Threads.
- Privacy for young users: Users under 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) will automatically have private profiles when they join Threads.
- Following accounts: You can choose to follow the same accounts as on Instagram and discover new people who share your interests.
- Accessibility features: Core accessibility features from Instagram, such as screen reader support and AI-generated image descriptions, are also available on Threads.
- Feed content: Your Threads feed includes posts from people you follow and recommended content from new creators.
- Post characteristics: Posts can be up to 500 characters long, include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length.
- Sharing options: You can easily share a Threads post to your Instagram story or share your post as a link on any other platform you choose.
By leveraging your Instagram account, Threads makes it easy to join the conversation and explore content in a familiar and accessible environment.
Threads has been launched in over 100 countries for iOS and Android devices, and users can download the app from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Meta plans to enhance Threads with a variety of upcoming features, including:
- ActivityPub protocol compatibility: This will make Threads more compatible with decentralized social networks like Mastodon, allowing for greater interoperability among platforms.
- Improved recommendations: Threads will soon offer better recommendations in users’ feeds, making it easier to discover new threads and creators of interest.
- A more robust search function: An enhanced search feature will make it simpler for users to follow topics and trends in real time, further promoting user engagement on the platform.
Meta is eager to receive user feedback as they continue to build new features and create innovative ways for people to connect on Threads.
Threads has been designed with features that promote positive and productive conversations while minimizing negativity:
- Control mentions and replies: Users can control who can mention or reply to them within Threads, allowing them to manage interactions more effectively.
- Hidden words filter: Similar to Instagram, users can add hidden words to filter out replies containing specific words, reducing the likelihood of offensive or unwanted content.
- Profile management: Users can unfollow, block, restrict, or report a profile on Threads by tapping the three-dot menu. Accounts blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads as well.
- Safety and community guidelines: Threads enforces Instagram’s Community Guidelines on content and interactions within the app, maintaining a safe environment for users.
- Investment in user protection: Meta has invested more than $16 billion since 2016 in building teams and technologies to protect users, and they continue to focus on advancing industry-leading integrity efforts to safeguard the community across their platforms.
By incorporating these tools, Threads aims to create a user-friendly environment that encourages positive interactions and minimizes negativity and harmful content.
Threads is the latest platform attempting to dethrone Twitter as the go-to app for public, real-time conversations. With many Twitter users expressing a desire for an alternative since Musk’s takeover, Threads may have the best chance of success.
Meta has a significant advantage over Twitter: its existing user base. Meta aims to capture a portion of its 2 billion global active Instagram users with the new app, compared to Twitter’s active user base of around 250 million.
What is Threads?
Threads is a new text-based social media app developed by Meta, designed to rival Twitter. It is linked to users’ Instagram accounts.
How do you create an account?
You can create a Threads account by logging in using your Instagram credentials.
How is it different from Twitter?
Threads does not currently have paid tiers, ads, long video, direct messages, or live audio rooms. However, verification marks from Instagram are carried over.
How do you use Threads?
Threads is available on iOS and Android in more than 100 countries (not including the EU due to privacy concerns). Users can follow their existing Instagram connections and import their username, name, and settings.
How many users does Threads have?
Threads reached 10 million signups within hours of its launch.
What are the limitations of posting on Threads?
Posts on Threads can contain up to 500 characters and support images and videos (but not GIFs). A Thread post can include up to 10 media items.
Can you use Threads on the web?
You can view Thread posts and profiles on the web, but you cannot log in and create posts.
How do you delete your Threads account?
You can deactivate your Threads account, but to delete it completely, you must delete your Instagram account.
Does Threads have a "Following" timeline?
Threads does not currently have a timeline that only shows posts from accounts you follow. The home timeline is a mix of algorithmically ranked posts from accounts you follow and other users.
Can you DM people on Threads?
Direct messaging is not available on Threads.
Is Threads part of the fediverse?
Threads does not currently support decentralized social network features, but ActivityPub support is in development.
What features are currently missing from Threads?
- A “Following” feed
- Support for GIFs
- Full web version support
- Editing posts
- Inline translation
- Support for user-generated Alt image text
- Hashtags
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