What is Threads (Meta)?
Threads is a new social networking application by Meta that shares many features with Twitter. It is a platform for communicating with an audience or followers through small posts. Threads can be downloaded for free on Android or iPhone (iOS) devices.
Features:
- Post short text messages;
- Follow other people;
- Read a feed consisting of posts from friends and algorithmically recommended posts;
- Comment on posts and engage in discussions;
- Like favorite messages.
How to Use?
Users are encouraged to connect to the new platform using their Instagram accounts. The social network can currently be accessed on smartphones, tablets, and through the web version in a browser. During the first launch, users should choose whether their account will be public or private.
Based on the Instagram profile, a list of friends will be generated. Users can immediately follow everyone or selectively choose whose posts they want to see in their feed.
Communication is centered around small posts that can include:
- Short text messages as the primary format. It is recommended to keep them within 500 characters, otherwise, the thought will need to be divided into multiple parts.
- A post can consist of one or multiple photos.
- Video clips up to 5 minutes in length can also be shared on the platform.
Posts in the feed can be interacted with in various ways: 4 buttons allow users to like, repost, comment, or share the post. The last option will share the post from Threads to other social networks.
Pros:
- Integration with Instagram simplifies certain aspects, such as not having to fill out a profile and quickly finding all friends;
- Verified badges that confirm the connection between an account and a real person or company;
- Division of messages and threads into public and follower-only;
- Ability to hide posts containing specific words;
- Mentioning other users in messages using the "@" symbol;
- Claimed integration with other platforms through the Fediverse federation.
Cons:
- No separation between recommendations and posts from friends;
- Threads account is inseparable from the Instagram account, which restricts certain actions. For example, it is not possible to delete Threads while leaving the Instagram profile untouched.
Summary
Threads is a social network focused on short-form publications like Twitter but with the design of Instagram. You can download the latest version of Threads (2024) for Android or iOS from the official website using the link below.
