Threads by Meta: A Threads App Review

What is Threads App?

In the ever-evolving world of social media, Meta, the company behind Instagram and Facebook, has made a significant move by launching ‘Threads’, a microblogging app designed to rival Twitter. 

Threads is a text-based platform that aims to offer a new and refreshing take on text-based social networking and hopes you find enough value in the app to keep using it over time. Launched on July 6th, 2023, Threads quickly gained attention, attracting millions of sign-ups within hours of its release. With its unique integration with Instagram and a fast-growing user base, Threads is positioned to reshape the landscape of text-based social networking. 

In this article, we will delve into the key aspects of Threads, its features, and its potential impact on the social media sphere.

We couldn’t be happier with all the excitement about this app, so thank you thank you, but this is a race to the starting line if there ever was one. The real test is not if we can build up a lot of hype, but if you all find enough value in the app to keep using it over time.

• Adam Mosseri

threads.net

Features and Distinctions

1. Seamless Integration with Instagram:
   Threads offers a unique advantage by seamlessly integrating with Instagram. Users can log in to Threads using their Instagram credentials and import their details including accounts they follow on IG, ensuring a smooth onboarding experience. Moreover, users retain their Instagram verification mark, providing a sense of authenticity and status within the Threads community. Since Threads is powered by Instagram, this means that deleting your Threads account automatically deletes your user account.
   
   You can however deactivate your Threads account, which hides your Threads profile and content, Other options include setting your profile to private and deleting individual threads posts – all without deleting your Instagram account. Still, the team is looking into a way to delete your Threads account separately.
   
2. Extended Posting Capabilities:
   In contrast to Twitter’s strict character limit, Threads allows users to express themselves more freely with a generous limit of 500 characters per post. Additionally, Threads supports video content up to five minutes in length, giving users the opportunity to share engaging visual stories.
   
3. Amplified Reach through Instagram’s User Base:
   Meta’s decision to build Threads on the foundation of its already massively popular platform, Instagram, has given the app a head start in terms of user base and engagement. With Instagram boasting a staggering 2.35 billion monthly active users, Threads gains an immediate advantage in terms of reach. Threads’ sign-up process includes an auto-follow feature, enabling new Threads accounts to automatically follow the same accounts the user follows on Instagram. This integration ensures that brands and individuals already on Instagram can easily extend their presence to Threads.
   
4. User Interface and Branding:
   Threads has a subtle, minimalist and immersive appeal with its predominantly black and white colours as well as basic features that any one who has used Twitter or Truth will easily appreciate and adapt to. The Threads logo, in Instagram Sans, designed by – Ryan O’Rourke, Jez Burrows, and others –  is a variant of the @ sign which represents a person’s username, the individual, and voice. However, it is a single unbroken line, inspired by the loop seen in the app when a thread is started.
   
5. Feed:
   The generic feed currently is currently free of ads. While, it is likely that this will change in the future, Users can enjoy the desired sanity that the absence of these ads provide. A dedicated “following” feed is also currently unavailable but as Instagram Head, Adam Morisson puts it, these basic features are currently in the works.
   
6. Mindful Reminder:
   The app features a reminder in its ‘account settings’ section for users to take breaks when they spend a set amount of time on the threads app. The options are 10, 20, 30 minutes and never.
   
7. Built for the Fediverse:
   While this new platform feels like an extension of Instagram, Threads is a standalone app. This has be attributed to Meta’s plan to promote cultural relevance with its plans for integrating into decentralized social media, Ultimately, Tailors will be moving to the Fediverse. Oh, if you’re wondering who Tailors are, that’s us.

Current Limitations of the Threads App

As users flood the Threads App, there are some basic features that can be found on Instagram and Twitter that are not currently supported.

“And there are tons of basics that are missing: search, hashtags, a following feed, graph syncing, fedeverse support, messaging maybe…We’re on it. The (amazing) team is cranking away. But full disclosure, it’ll take time.”
– Adam Mosseri

threads.net

Features currently unavailable include:

• Post edits,
• Drafts,
• Scheduling,
• Search,
• Hashtags,
• A ‘Following’ feed,
• Graph syncing,
• Direct Messaging
• Direct Switch Accounts option,
• Fedeverse support,

According the the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, the features are currently in the works and will be made available in time.

Final Thoughts

While the Threads App by Meta currently provides a suitable alternative to Twitter, it does not immediately displace it. However, Twitter is said to be threatening a lawsuit over allegations of “systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property” and from former Twitter employees that now work with Meta.
Still, brands and individuals alike should consider harnessing the power of Threads to expand their reach, engage with audiences, and explore new possibilities for communication and collaboration in the digital age. As Threads continues to evolve, it will be fascinating to witness its impact and influence on the ever-evolving world of social media.