Topline
Meta rolled out Threads—its long-rumored rival to Twitter—on Wednesday evening in a surprise announcement and has since then racked up more than 10 million users, a potential sign it could be a serious rival to the Elon Musk-owned social platform, even though its user experience is different to Twitter in some key ways.
Meta has positioned Threads as a direct competitor to Twitter, but the two platforms have some key … [+] differences.
Key Facts
The most significant difference between the two platforms is the timeline, as Meta’s app only displays an algorithmic timeline—in a similar vein to Facebook and Instagram—and offers no option for a Twitter-like reverse chronological time showing the most recent posts.
The algorithm-driven timeline also displays posts made by accounts that the user does not follow—something that Twitter only restricts to its alternate “For You” timeline.
Threads is a mobile-only experience at the moment and users can only make posts, write comments and follow people on the platform’s mobile app, unlike Twitter, which allows all of this on its website as well.
Meta’s official blog announcing the launch of Threads also makes no mention of a native desktop or web browser experience, which is currently limited to seeing people’s posts and their profile pages.
Hashtags—a key element of Twitter’s identity and a feature that has permeated other social platforms including Facebook and Instagram—are not present on Threads, as the platform does not allow users to search for specific content.
This means that there is no “trending section” on Threads and the only way to discover content on the platform is based on what Meta’s algorithm decides to serve.
What To Watch For
It’s unclear if any of these differences are baked into the platform’s design, but a post by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared to suggest he would be open to making changes based on feedback. The billionaire responded with a thumbs-up emoji to a post on Threads by tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee which said: “As long as the big bosses are on here actively listening to feedback… a home feed just for people you follow would be 🤌🏾”
Tangent
While Meta’s new platform has rapidly added more than 10 million users, many of Instagram’s most-followed accounts are yet to sign-up. Among the top 20 most-followed accounts on Instagram (excluding brands) only the Kardashian sisters—Kim, Khloe and Kourtney—and Jennifer Lopez have joined Threads as of Thursday morning. Users need to sign in to their Instagram account to join Threads, which is an offshoot of the photo and video-sharing app. None of the top 10 most followed accounts on Twitter have signed up for Threads yet, including Elon Musk, former President Barack Obama, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, Taylor Swift and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ellen DeGeneres—who has the 12th most followed account on Twitter—is the most followed person on Twitter to have joined Threads.
Surprising Fact
Even though his Instagram account makes regular campaign-related posts, former U.S. President Donald Trump is yet to join Threads. Meta lifted a two-year-long ban on Trump’s social media accounts in January this year, allowing him to return to Instagram and Facebook. This means Trump is free to join Threads.
Further Reading
Meta Officially Launches Threads—Challenging Elon Musk And Twitter (Forbes)
Leaving Elon Musk’s Twitter? Here Are Some Alternatives, From Meta Threads To Mastodon To Bluesky. (Forbes)
