Instagram's Threads is launching tomorrow to take on Twitter — everything you need to know
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Threads is coming to take on Twitter. If all the changes and restrictions happening at Twitter are getting too much to bear, you may be in luck. Instagram has a new Twitter competitor set to arrive on July 6.
Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter and started making sweeping and controversial changes, the topic of Twitter alternatives has been on a lot of peoples’ minds. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company was working on its own micro-blogging rival back in March. In the following months we learned it would be called Threads, and would be officially part of Instagram — albeit in a separate app.
How to get Threads
Threads is currently live for some lucky brands and content creators, who've had a chance to experiment with the service ahead of the public launch. It's even possible to view these posts in a web browser, but any interaction requires the app — which isn't available just yet.
But you can stay prepared, because there are already listings on the Apple App Store and Google Play — though Apple users get to "pre-order" threads in a manner of speaking
The Instagram app has a teaser that is your key to getting access to Threads right away — assuming you're an iPhone user that is. Simple type the phrase “threads” into the search bar, and a ticket icon will appear. Tapping it loads up a spinning virtual ticket revealing Threads' 10 a.m. ET launch time on July 6.
An on-screen QR code also takes you to threads.net when scanned, featuring a countdown to launch day and another QR code. Scanning that QR code on an iPhone takes you to the App Store to "pre-order" the app. In other words you handle all the purchasing, and Apple will install Threads as soon as its available.
This process isn't available on Android, so come launch time you'll just have to use the search bar like everyone else.
It's also worth noting that Threads won't be launching in the EU just yet, thanks to the regions' strict data privacy laws. The U.S. and U.K. are unaffected by this, however.
What is Threads?
According to the App Store Threads is “Instagram’s text-based conversation app”, It’s described as “where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and 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.”
Which is more or less Twitter, but with a different billionaire at the helm. And hopefully none of the ridiculous decision-making and paywalls that weaken the experience.
Thread design
Screenshots on the Apple and Google app portals show an interface that should prove familiar to Instagram users. The difference is that text is the dominant thing on screen, rather than images. Though it does look like you’ll be able to use Threads to post images, much as you would on Twitter or in a Facebook status.
Better still, it confirms that your Instagram account will carry over, letting you log in with the exact same username and password. This also means you can follow all the same accounts fairly easily, though whether this will be done automatically or not isn’t clear.
If you’re not already an active Instagram user, or take issue with the amount of data Meta apps have been known to collect, then Threads may not be for you. Still, in a world where Twitter seems hell-bent on spiraling into oblivion, and alternatives like Bluesky are still very much in their infancy, Meta probably has a decent chance of success.
We’ll have to see how this plays out to see if it can tempt users away from Twitter. But at least you don’t have long to wait to take Threads for a spin yourself.
