What Is Meta’s New Threads App?

Another day, another release in the tech world. We can’t keep up. Meta launched Threads, a new app built by the Instagram team, for sharing text updates and joining public conversations.

So What Is Meta’s New Threads App?

You log in using your Instagram account. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length.

Meta says that they are working to soon make Threads compatible with the open, interoperable social networks that we believe can shape the future of the internet.

Threads offers a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations. Everyone who is under 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) will be defaulted into a private profile when they join Threads. You can choose to follow the same accounts you do on Instagram, and find more people who care about the same things you do. The core accessibility features available on Instagram today, such as screen reader support and AI-generated image descriptions, are also enabled on Threads.

Your feed on Threads includes threads posted by people you follow, and recommended content from new creators you haven’t discovered yet. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length. You can easily share a Threads post to your Instagram story. You can also share your post as a link on any other platform you choose.

Meta said in a release:

We built Threads with tools to enable positive, productive conversations. You can control who can mention you or reply to you within Threads. Like on Instagram, you can add hidden words to filter out replies to your threads that contain specific words. You can unfollow, block, restrict or report a profile on Threads by tapping the three-dot menu. Any accounts you block on Instagram will automatically block on Threads. As with all our products, we’re taking safety seriously. Furthermore, we’ll enforce Instagram’s Community Guidelines on content and interactions in the app. Since 2016 we’ve invested more than $16 billion in building up the teams and technologies needed to protect our users. We remain focused on advancing our industry-leading integrity efforts and investments to protect our community.

They’re rolling out Threads today in more than 100 countries for iOS and Android. People in those countries can download the app from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.