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Instagram Threads short-form social media platform will launch tomorrow

Meta is taking Twitter head-on with the release of its own text-based social media platform.

Donovan Erskine

July 5, 2023 7:00 AM

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Twitter has been in absolute turmoil since the Elon Musk takeover, with countless feature and policy changes that have hindered the user experience. As a result, many Twitter users have been desperate to find an alternative social media platform to flock to, and a major player is about to enter the ring. Threads is a new social media platform that’s set to launch worldwide tomorrow.

While Meta had previously teased its plans to make a new text-based social media platform to rival Twitter, Threads was officially announced with a July 6, 2023 release date over the holiday weekend. On the app’s official App Store and Google Play store pages, we get a better idea of what Threads will look and operate like—which is essentially just like Twitter.

Officially described as an Instagram app, Threads allows users to connect their IG account and follow the same people from the photo-sharing platform. On Threads, users can make text-based posts, like posts from others, reply to them, and share them. Promotional screenshots of the app also reveal another Twitter-like feature: the ability to limit who can reply to your posts by following, mentioned, and everybody. Threads will have a decent amount of crossover between Meta’s other social media apps, Facebook and Instagram, as users can still post pictures on it.

The launch of Threads comes at a time where there is an increased uncertainty around Twitter’s future. A string of large missteps have disillusioned a large share of the platform’s user base, and the recent introduction of tweet rate limits was just the latest change that had users yearning for a worthy alternative platform. Meta, of course, has problems of its own to deal with. Although it may be a while before Musk and Zuckerberg are throwing hands in the octagon, their respective social media platforms will be duking it out later this week.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_