LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Meta Platforms announced plans to release Threads, a microblogging software that competes with Twitter days after Twitter CEO Elon Musk drew flak for placing a temporary limit on the number of messages users can view on the social media platform.
According to a listing on Apple’s App Store, Threads, which is scheduled to be live on Thursday, would let users keep the same username and their Instagram followers.
The launch poses a direct challenge to Twitter, which has been embroiled in several issues ever since Musk acquired the firm in 2022 for $44 billion (approximately Rs. 3,61,000 crore).
The billionaire Tesla investor imposed a series of new limitations last week, including a cap on the number of tweets users might view each day. This move sparked outrage among many users on the network.
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Even while the number of users on other microblogging platforms like Mastodon and Blue Sky has increased since Musk bought them, neither has been able to overtake Twitter.
However, Instagram already has hundreds of millions of active users, and it has a history of rolling out new features in response to the popularity of other social networking platforms.
In response to Snapchat’s growing popularity, Instagram developed a feature called “stories” in 2016 that allows users to publish content that vanishes after a set period of time.
In more recent times, the business’s short-form video feature “Reels” has aimed to counteract the growth of TikTok.
The introduction of Threads poses a real threat to Twitter under Musk, whose attempts to increase profits and remake the network in his own image have been roundly criticized.
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He terminated over 80% of the workers after buying the business late last year and let certain accounts that had been blocked to reappear, including those of former US President Donald Trump and the conservative satirical news site Babylon Bee.
The platform’s most active users appeared to be losing interest, according to internal papers obtained by Reuters, while hundreds of advertisers suspended their spending with Twitter out of worry over what they saw to be an increase in dangerous content.
A request for comment from Reuters regarding a comparable launch on the Google Play Store did not receive a prompt response from Meta.
