LONDON: Facebook’s parent company Meta is set to launch a microblogging app to compete with Twitter, with a full release expected for Thursday.
The new Threads app was available for pre-order on Monday on the mobile App Store for iOS after briefly appearing on the Google Store on Sunday. At the time of writing, the app remains unavailable for Android users.
“Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow,” says the app’s description on the store.
The new app will enable users to “connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things, or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world.”
According to sources familiar with the project, the new social network, described in Apple’s store listing as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app,” would work similarly to Twitter, with text-based posts that can be liked, commented on, and shared.
Users will also be able to control who can see and respond to their posts. This gives users more control over their privacy and their interactions with other users.
To make adopting the new platform easier, users will be able to connect it to their Instagram accounts.
This will allow them to bring their existing community with them, including username, followings, and followers.
According to the App Store listing, Threads will initially support 31 languages, including English, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog, Hindi and Turkish.
However, unlike other platforms owned by Meta, Threads will not be available in Arabic.
Although this might suggest that the new app will be available in nations where the mentioned languages are spoken natively, it remains unclear whether the app will be available across the Middle East and North Africa region.
Meta did not respond to Arab News’ request for comment concerning this issue, but The National reported that the app is also available as a pre-order download in the UAE.
The company is expected to work on adding further language support, however, given the vast user base it has in the MENA region.
The tech giant has been notoriously slow to implement Arabic language support on its platforms. Instagram, for example, only began supporting Arabic in 2017, and Instagram Reels was only available in Arabic seven months after its launch.
Meta first revealed its plans for Threads in mid-March, saying that it was developing a new social network that was described as a potential rival to Twitter.
The app’s launch may take advantage of Twitter users’ growing dissatisfaction since Tesla owner Elon Musk took over the social media platform last October.
Twitter’s reduced content filtration, the requirement of a monthly subscription cost to be designated as a verified account, limited access to TweetDeck, and a temporary limit on the number of posts for unpaid subscribers are among the concerns that have put off users and prompted them to seek alternative platforms.
