Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, who is launching the platform, saw a gap and said to step in Threads which aspires to take a large part of Twitter users, who express dissatisfaction with recent changes to the platform, as reported by the BBC.

Threads – which is not currently available in the EU – allows users to post up to 500 characters and has many features similar to Twitter.

The app had 5 million registrations in its first four hours, said Zuckerberg, who explained that it will be a user-friendly app and ultimately that will be the secret to its success.

For his part, Twitter boss Elon Musk responded: “It is infinitely better to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than to surrender to the false happiness of Instagram.”

Asked on Threads if the app would become bigger than Twitter, Zuckerberg said: “It’s going to take some time, but I think there should be a public discussion app with over 1 billion users. Twitter had a chance to do it, but failed. Hopefully we will.”

Competitors criticize Threads for the amount of data it can use, which can include information about health, financial status, and user browsing that can be linked to their identity, according to the Apple App Store.

Threads is now available for download in over 100 countries, including the UK, but not yet in the EU due to regulatory concerns.

“Original Version”

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, called the new app an “initial version,” with additional features planned, including the ability to interact with people on other social media apps like Mastodon.

“Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does and extend it to messaging,” the company said ahead of its launch.

Although Threads is a standalone app, users log in using an Instagram account. Their Instagram username carries over, but there is an option to customize their profile specifically for Threads.

Users will also be able to choose to follow the same Instagram accounts, Meta says. The app allows users to be private on Instagram but public on Threads.

The launch of the new app comes after criticism of Meta’s business practices. The company was rocked by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, when it allowed third parties, such as the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, to access the personal data of Facebook users.

How does Threads work?

In Threads, posts can be shared to Instagram and vice versa, and can include links, photos, and videos up to five minutes long.

However, some early users reported problems uploading images.

Users see a stream of posts, which Meta calls “threads”, from people they follow as well as suggested content.

They can control who can “mention” them and filter replies to posts that contain specific words.

Unfollowing, blocking, restricting or reporting other profiles is also possible, and any accounts that users block on Instagram are automatically blocked on Threads.

While Meta emphasizes ties to Instagram, media coverage has focused on its similarity to Twitter, with some investors describing the app as a “Twitter killer.”