Meta takes aim at Twitter with the launch of rival app Threads

Meta unveiled an app to rival Twitter on Thursday, appearing to target users looking for an alternative to the social media platform owned – and frequently changed – by Elon Musk.

Called Threads, the new offering is billed as a text-based version of Meta’s photo-sharing app Instagram that the company says provides “a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations”.

The app went live just after midnight Wednesday in the UK in Apple and Google Android app stores in more than 100 countries including the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan.

Users will get a Twitter-like microblogging experience, according to screenshots provided to media, suggesting that Meta Platforms has been gearing up to directly challenge the platform after Musk’s tumultuous ownership has resulted in a series of unpopular changes that have turned off users and advertisers.

There are buttons to like, repost or quote a “thread,” and counters showing the number of likes and replies that a post has received.