Meta has launched Threads, a brand new text-based social network intended to rival Twitter. Release date, features or operation, we tell you everything you need to know about it.
Threads, Meta’s new app, isn’t terribly groundbreaking. The social network follows Elon Musk’s Twitter formula, but with Mark Zuckerberg sauce. It remains to be seen whether the power of Instagram or even Facebook will manage to make its competitor tremble. With this objective in view, Threads is currently seeking to establish itself in the digital landscape, and it can count on certain assets for this.
Read – We tried Threads, here’s what Twitter’s rival is worth
When is Threads coming out in France?
Meta officially launched Threads on Thursday, July 06, 2023. The launch was a real success, the social network amassing 10 million new subscribers in 7 hours, and nearly 50 million users in 24 hours.
The application is initially reserved for around 100 countries, after which Meta will roll it out more widely. The company has chosen not to make it available in Europe from the launch, probably because of the stricter legislation in force here regarding the protection of user privacy. It’s currently unclear when Meta plans to launch the app in Europe.
Threads, what is it?
Threads is a new app from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. It is indeed a standalone application, but it is directly linked to Instagram. The platform is very similar to Twitter, with a mostly text-based message flow, although users can also post photos and videos.
As its name suggests, the social network focuses on sharing short snippets of textbut also on the real time chat with other users. You can reply, like or share messages posted by other members of the community.
One of the strengths of Threads is undoubtedly its ease of use. Getting started is amazingly easysince you only need to log in with your Instagram account. The social network then offers you directly to follow all the people to whom you were subscribed on Instagram, so as not to start from 0, and even to import your bio and your profile image. The two applications being linked, note that deleting your Threads account will also make your Instagram account disappear.
The interface of the application is quite refined so that you are not out of place. At the bottom you will find five different tabs, which will help you navigate the application:
- The home icon takes you to your newsfeed.
- The magnifying glass icon takes you to a search page where you can enter the usernames of people you want to follow.
- The pen and paper icon allows you to write a post.
- The heart icon indicates your account activity. It shows who has followed you, replied to your thread, or mentioned you in their messages. There are also various tabs here to help you find your way around.
- The human figure icon takes you to your profile, where you can see your activity.
Threads allows you to publish up to 500 characters of text. If that’s not enough for you, you can simply create a discussion thread containing several messages, and up to 10 images or video of 5 minutes maximum.
In the profile section, you will find an Instagram logo at the top right, which you can click on to be directly redirected to the user’s Instagram account, which is practical.
Threads also inherits Instagram a “take a break” digital wellbeing feature, in Settings > Account. This allows the application to send you a reminder every 10, 20 or 30 minutes to encourage you to disconnect.
There is also a “Supervision” mode for personalized parental control, the possibility of defining your profile in public / private, or even choosing who can mention you. As with the competition, you are also free to define masked words that you do not want to appear in the news feed, or to block other users.
Is Threads free?
Like Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp, Threads is free. However, we are not immune to seeing an optional paid subscription in the future. Meta has already launched a verification program on Facebook and Instagram, so Threads could also be affected in the future. Like Twitter and the Blue subscription, available at €9.60 (VAT included) per month, Meta could give its paying users access to exclusive features.
What are the differences with Twitter?
You would have understood it, Twitter and Threads are almost alike as two drops of water, so much so that the blue bird thinks of taking Meta to court. However, some differences can still be noted. First, Threads allows for longer posts than Twitter, which limits texts to 500 characters (or 10,000 for Twitter Blue subscribers).
How your timeline works is also different than Twitter. For now, Threads is content to show you posts from people you follow, but not only. Indeed, you will also find in the thread recommended posts from other users you don’t know.
Threads was forced to go this way at launch to give users time to follow enough accounts and grow the network. So for now, you can’t escape the algorithm, which will recommend you to follow other users based on your activity. However, Instagram’s CEO has already announced that the platform will fix this in the future by adding a dedicated newsfeed to your friends and other people you follow.
Unlike Twitter, Threads also does not use hashtags. However, this is also a feature that will arrive later, probably with a “Trending” section that will summarize what are the most followed topics at the moment.
Note also that Threads has a much stricter moderation policy than Twitter. If Elon Musk is lax on Twitter by advocating freedom of expression as the platform’s flagship asset, Meta, for example, prevents its users from posting sexual photos or videos on Threads.
Finally, Threads does not allow you to send private messages to other users. The objective ” wasn’t to create a new inbox, but rather to allow users to send threads to other apps according to CEO Adam Mossori.
To the chagrin of users, we can also note thelack of GIF support, built-in translator for posts in other languages, or the ability to see your own ‘likes’.
What platforms is Threads available on?
Threads is available on theApple App Store and the Google Play Store, but not yet in France. Until the app arrives here, French users who already want to download the app should do so usingan account on the American App Store, or an APK on Android. Here’s how to install Threads in advance with us.
On Android:
- Allow unknown sources in your smartphone settings. To do this, go to the Security section.
- Download the APK by following this link from your phone, then clicking on “Download APK”.
- Once the file is downloaded, click on it to install Threads
On iOS:
- Sign out of your Apple account from the App Store, by clicking on your name at the top of the app.
- Select the option to create a new account, “Sign in to your iPhone”, then “Create a new Apple ID”.
- Go to the end of the procedure, remembering to select the United States as the region.
- Go to your inbox to retrieve the code sent by Apple, which you will need to enter on your iPhone.
- Open the App Store, and search for “Threads, an Instagram app”. Click on download, wait for the installation to complete, and open the application.
- Threads may ask for your US address. Don’t panic, just enter fictitious information to skip this step.
Fortunately, Meta does not apply geoblocking on its application. Once downloaded to your Android smartphone or your iPhone from France by following the instructions above, you can therefore use it without using a VPN.
Adam Mossori, the CEO of Instagram, has already confirmed thata web version is in preparation, so users can use Threads from a computer or on their smartphone without having to download the app. However, we will still have to be patient.
