Meta also added a launch date teaser to the Instagram app. Type “threads” in the search box (or any number of other keywords) causes a ticket icon to appear in the search bar. Tap it and a spinning ticket will appear with your Instagram username next to a local start time translated from 10am ET on the 6th. The spinning ticket also contains a QR code that links to threads.net, seemingly the web portal of the new social media platform. Here you see a countdown timer that is Also ends at 10am ET on the 6th.
Here’s the official – and brief – description of the app, from the App Store:
Say more with Threads, Instagram’s text-based conversation app
Discussions is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what will be trending tomorrow. Whatever you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who enjoy the same things — or you can build a loyal following yourself to share your ideas, opinions, and creativity with the world.
My colleague Alex Heath reported on a company-wide meeting last month where Meta executives shared that Instagram Threads will be integrated with the decentralized social media protocol used by Mastodon, called ActivityPub. That’s also the meeting where an exec said, “We’ve heard from creators and public figures interested in a platform that’s managed in a healthy way,” sparking conversations about a cage match between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
News of Threads’ launch comes after a particularly messy few days at its main rival Twitter. Last week, Elon Musk’s social media network blocked unregistered users from seeing tweets, and temporary rate limits introduced for those who are logged in and could block you after reading hundreds or thousands of messages per day. These changes led to widespread issues over the weekend, with users unable to browse the service.
In response to news of a launch date for Threads, Elon Musk responded to a handful of tweets that hinted at the amount of data Meta’s App Store listing for Threads says it can collect about users. “Thank goodness they are run so healthily,” he said in reply on one tweet. “All your Threads are ours,” former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wrote alongside a screenshot of Threads’ data collection. “Yes” was Musk’s response. For what it’s worth, Instagram’s existing app already links the same data to you, according to the app store listing.
Update July 4, 04:07 ET: Updated to include the Threads teaser in the Instagram app, the Google Play Store listing, and Musk’s response.
