FACEBOOK founder Mark Zuckerberg has launched a new app for sharing text updates and joining public conversations. But its similarity to its rival, Twitter, may lead netizens to ask what’s new in this Instagram-backed platform called Threads?

Zuckerberg announced the release of this new text-based app on Thursday, July 6, with the vision to take the best features of Instagram and “create a new experience for text, ideas, and discussing what’s on people’s minds.”

“Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text, creating a positive and creative space to express your ideas,” Meta said in a press release.

The app received warm welcome from users, garnering over 30 million sign ups 24 hours after its release. 

While it attempts to lure users away from its arch nemesis, republicasia tested out Threads to see whether it’s a flop or would it spell trouble for Elon Musk?

Getting started

Threads is an app made specifically by the team who created and developed Instagram. 

Because it integrates with this photo sharing social media site, netizens will only be able to sign up for Threads by connecting their existing Instagram account.

How it works

Since it is powered by Instagram, Threads will utilize users information from the platform and integrate it with the content it will display on the user’s Threads feed. 

They will also have the option to follow the same people they follow on Instagram.

Users can also pretty much do the same thing on Threads when they are on Instagram — they can like posts, repost, report inappropriate content, and restrict and block users.

“With Threads you can follow and connect with friends and creators who share your interests – including the people you follow on Instagram and beyond. And you can use our existing suite of safety and user controls,” said Meta.

What makes it different

But what makes Threads special is that it provides users an opportunity to express their ideas and opinions through a 500-character limit, which is a lot bigger than Twitter’s 280 limit. 

Meta also said that users can include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length. There is also an option to share a Thread post to one’s Instagram story, or share the post as a link to other social media platforms.

Aside from this, users aged 16 below, or 18 below to other countries, will have their accounts in private as a default. Meanwhile, legal aged users may opt to choose to go in public or private.

The core accessibility features available on Instagram today, such as screen reader support and AI-generated image descriptions, are also enabled on Threads, said Meta.

Unlike Twitter, Threads do not use hashtags and don’t possess a feature that lets users search for specific text or phrases. It also allows them to include up to 10 photos per post, which is the same limit for Instagram, and something that Twitter lacks (you can only tweet four photos max!).

Safe and positive environment

Apart from integrating some Instagram features, Meta said it is also committed to fostering a safe and positive environment for its users.

Users can control who can reply to their posts. They can also filter keywords they do not want to see on their field by tagging them on Thread’s hidden word option that is also taken from Instagram.

Threads will also block users netizens blocked on its sister site.

“You can unfollow, block, restrict or report a profile on Threads by tapping the three-dot menu, and any accounts you’ve blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads,” it said.

Some users have already noticed this so-called safe space that Thread offers.

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach-Jauncey said Threads is an avenue that enables users like her to speak her mind without getting harassed by other users. 

“Finally a place where we can write down our thoughts and not get death threats for having an opinion,” the beauty queen said.

She also wished Meta could keep the app free from trolls in order to maintain this healthy online environment for Thread users.

Thread user Aldrin Abanto (@ser.ey.spaghetey) also hopes for the same thing – for Threads to not become another toxic social media platform.

“I’m kinda loving how friendly and approachable peeps are,” he said in a Thread post.

Is it better than Twitter?

Meta’s Twitter clone is almost identical to its predecessor, especially when you’re scrolling through your feed as it incorporates the same features – likes, retweets, and follows.

But considering how Musk is limiting user accessibility to Twitter, Threads is gaining an edge in terms of the ease of access as it doesn’t bar people from seeing new posts once they’ve reached their 600 to 6,000 limit per day.

Its user-friendly layout also helps users in engaging with content and other users smoothly and more conveniently.

Meanwhile, Meta plans to add more features to Threads that will help individuals continue to discover threads and creators they’re interested in, “including improved recommendations in feed and a more robust search function that makes it easier to follow topics and trends in real time.”