Tech giant Meta has launched its new social media app Threads with the platform now available to Australian users on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
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The app was developed by Meta's Instagram team, but focuses on sharing text instead of images.
Threads is designed to be a companion to Instagram, with users able to create a new profile using their existing Instagram account.
"Instagram is where billions of people around the world connect over photos and videos. 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 says.
Usernames and verification will carry over to the new platform, with the option to customise profiles specifically for Threads.
Users under the age of 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) will be defaulted to a private profile when they first join the platform.
The launch comes as Meta continues its battle with Twitter in the social media market, with respective owners Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk becoming increasingly combative in recent months.
Both men infamously agreed to a cage fight back in June. Mr Musk sarcastically responded "thank goodness they're so sanely run" to a tweet announcing Threads on July 4.
In contrast to recent changes made at Twitter, it appears the app will be a free service.
On July 1, Mr Musk restricted the number of tweets users could see, citing extreme "data scraping".
This comes as the platform announced that the popular user dashboard, TweetDeck, will go behind a paywall next month.
The move is the latest push by Twitter to get users to sign up for its paid subscription service, Twitter Blue.
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Early previews of Threads show a dashboard almost identical to Twitter's, although post limits are expanded from Twitter's 280 to 500 characters long.
It's not the first time Mr Zuckerberg has borrowed ideas from other platforms, with Meta's Reels widely seen as a TikTok copy, while Stories bears a resemblance to Snapchat.
Meta's latest dip into virtual reality in the form of the metaverse is functionally similar to VRChat.
Alternative platforms such as Mastodon have seen increased popularity since Mr Musk's acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, although Meta's staff size and budget dwarfs them in scale.
Like Meta's other platforms, Threads will track location data, purchases and browsing history.
Have you joined Threads? Follow ACM here: https://www.threads.net/@austcommunitymedia
Aaron Smith
Regional council reporter and videographer at The Examiner. Contact me at aaron.smith@austcommunitymedia.com.au for enquiries or send me a message on social media.
Regional council reporter and videographer at The Examiner. Contact me at aaron.smith@austcommunitymedia.com.au for enquiries or send me a message on social media.
