From TikTok to BeReal, we’ve been introduced to many popular new apps in recent years, and Threads is the next one in line. Meta launched this Instagram-adjacent app last week and it quickly became a viral sensation, but what is Threads about, and is it worth the hype?
Threads was introduced by the same parent company that gave us Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, so it’s not a shocker that it became an overnight sensation. Following its launch on July 5, this app was downloaded by 80 million people in just two days, becoming the most rapidly downloaded app of all time.
Part of the reason why Threads managed to become such a huge overnight sensation is its association with Instagram. New users can easily sign up using their Instagram account, and many celebrities, influencers, and media companies quickly built a huge community on Threads by bringing their Instagram followers on board.
At its core, Threads is the extension of Instagram’s Notes feature, and it’s not a coincidence it’s often been described as the “Twitter killer”. At their core, Threads and Twitter are both text-based conversation apps with many similarities between them, and their uncanny resemblance quickly stirred controversy.
The launch of Threads came shortly after Twitter limited the number of tweets its users can view per day—only the latest in a series of controversial changes that Elon Musk introduced after taking over. Threads was obviously launched as a main competitor to Twitter, and this company already threatened legal action over Meta’s new app, with Musk saying that “competition is fine, cheating is not”.
