Meta's Threads Blazes Off The Blocks: 5 Million Users in Initial Hours

Technology and social media aficionados, listen up! Mark Zuckerberg's latest invention, Threads – a new app from Meta that eerily mirrors Twitter – has hit the digital streets running. In the first four hours alone, Threads managed to amass an impressive five million sign-ups, as Zuckerberg aims to draw in users from Elon Musk's currently shaky platform. The bait? Longer posts, a few celebrity endorsements, and – let's be honest – a striking similarity to Twitter itself.

Threads was launched 15 hours ahead of schedule at 7pm EDT in the US and midnight in the UK, and is now up for grabs in 100 countries via Apple and Google app stores. However, regulatory constraints mean it's off-limits in the EU for now.

Big names like Billboard, HBO, NPR, and Netflix wasted no time in setting up accounts, mere minutes after the launch. Initial celebrity endorsements included Shakira and Gordon Ramsay, and there are whispers that even Oprah Winfrey and the Dalai Lama might jump on board.

To join the Threads party, you'll need an Instagram account. Once you're in, you can opt to follow the same accounts you already do on Instagram, provided they've also embraced Threads.

You'd be forgiven for thinking you've somehow landed back on Twitter when you first open Threads. Retweets are now "reposts", tweets are "threads", and the overall aesthetic is undeniably familiar. Meta is no stranger to drawing inspiration from its rivals, as seen in 2020 with Instagram's Reels – a near-carbon copy of TikTok’s short-form videos.

Threads raises the character limit for posts to 500, almost doubling Twitter's 280, and allows videos up to five minutes long. Posts can also be shared as links on other platforms. User controls are as you'd expect – you can unfollow, block, restrict, or report others, and even filter out replies with certain words.

This launch comes in the wake of a turbulent spell for Twitter, which recently imposed viewing limits on tweets, citing data harvesting by AI companies as one reason. Zuckerberg addressed this directly in a Threads post, confidently expressing his hope to create a public conversations app that reaches more than a billion people – something he believes Twitter has yet to achieve.

Initial reactions varied, with some hailing the app's user-friendly design and even suggesting Musk should be concerned. Others highlighted the app's rapid integration with Instagram as testament to Meta's ever-growing power. Fittingly, much of this chatter unfolded on Twitter itself, where the hashtag "Threads" trended Wednesday evening.

Zuckerberg's announcement of Threads' imminent arrival stirred up a Twitter storm, culminating in a jovial agreement for a cage fight between Zuckerberg and Musk. A date is yet to be set for this unlikely showdown.

Meta is branding Threads as a separate realm for real-time updates and public discourse, aiming to enhance Instagram's best features through text-based communication. It aims to offer a vibrant and imaginative space for people to share their thoughts. The goal is to compete with Twitter's 250 million users, leveraging Instagram's reported user base of 2 billion.

Threads will also mirror Twitter's competitors like Mastodon, built on a decentralized platform enabling account transfers to other services. Meta plans to make Threads compatible with ActivityPub, the technology also used by Mastodon, which enables social networks to be interoperable. This would let Threads users migrate their accounts and followers to other ActivityPub-supported apps.

In a nod to Mastodon's style, Meta envisions mini-communities forming within Threads, each with their own community standards and moderation policies.

The Guardian has learned that Meta won't run ads onThreads for at least the remainder of the year. As of now, the main feed displays a blend of followed content and algorithm-recommended posts, with no plans to allow users to limit this to only the accounts they follow. Instagram usernames will be carried over to Threads, mitigating the risk of high-profile username squatting.

Meta is keenly aware of safety concerns, especially for underage users. To combat this, they're making all UK Threads profiles for users under 18 private by default, allowing only approved individuals to view them.

Threads is another Meta move that unabashedly mirrors competitors, but its timing coincides with "peak Twitter frustration", according to Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester. Despite the crowded marketplace of Twitter alternatives like Hive, Bluesky, and Mastodon, the emergence of Threads may just further fragment the user base seeking a Twitter alternative.

To get the Threads cheat code, open up the Instagram app and type “Threads” into the search bar. You should see a little ticket icon pop up before you hit the search button that reads “Admit One.” If you’re not seeing it, try closing and reopening Instagram, or restarting your phone.

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