Threads, a Twitter competitor from Meta, was launched on Wednesday and has already onboarded 50 million users. It took the app less than 2 hours to reach the first million and there hasn’t been any looking back since. Now, there are a lot of reasons behind this meteoric rise from Threads, possibly the biggest one being the collective hatred people have for the dumpster fire that is Twitter. But Threads being a good social media app is not one of them. Well, not right now at least.
Threading the needle
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for Threads is an “open” and “friendly” conversation space where people can share their thoughts in a text-based format. What Zuckerberg meant to say was that Threads is what Twitter was supposed to be. Actually, that’s exactly what Zuckerberg said in a thread (that’s what we’re calling posts of Threads, right), saying Twitter “had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it.”
So, what you get with Threads (right now) is a stripped-down and cleaner version of Twitter. It’s a minimalistic interface where users get to see algorithmic posts on their feed based on what Threads feels you might find most interesting.
Here are a few things you get (or don’t get) with Threads right now:
- A home feed page that shows posts from people you follow and recommended posts from verified celebrities, brand accounts, and so on.
- There is no option (at the moment) to switch to a feed that shows posts only from people you follow.
- You cannot see your feed in chronological order.
- There is no place to see liked posts. There’s also no option to bookmark threads.
- No hashtag support, and consequently, no trending hashtag feature.
- No easy way to switch between accounts.
These are just some of the problems with Threads right now. As I said earlier, this is a very bare-boned interface and one expects more Twitter-like features to show up in coming weeks and months.
Of course, there are some positive aspects to Threads that users have been lauding since they joined:
- No ads
- Clean interface
- No viewing limit
- Fewer bots
‘Thread’ carefully
Let’s not get too excited about Threads right now. As I mentioned earlier, you can expect more features to appear on Threads soon, but this could mean both the good ones and the bad ones. While there are no ads to be seen right now, it is surely a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. You can almost hear Zuckerberg twirling his imaginary mustache!
There are bigger warning signs that make the app questionable for new users. Firstly, the sheer number of personal data that Threads will collect from you, and you have no choice but to agree to if you want to use the app: physical address, browsing history, health information, financial and other sensitive information.
Secondly, Meta is making it extremely difficult for you to delete your Threads account. As of now, you won’t be able to delete your Threads account without deleting your Instagram account as well. Yes, Threads is a standalone app, but it uses your Instagram account to sign up. Once you do that, both apps become linked in a way. While you can deactivate your Threads account, you won’t be able to delete it unless you also agree to delete your Instagram profile. So, once you sign up for Threads, you’re kind of stuck with it whether you like it or not.
Hanging by a thread
It is quite difficult to get people to switch to a new service once they’ve grown used to an existing one. Despite WhatsApp’s controversial privacy policy update in 2021, users continued to stay true to the messaging app, which has been growing steadily in active users year after year.
Meanwhile, Twitter saw a spike in downloads in the weeks after Musk took over last year. Twitter’s current crisis due to several changes made by Musk is perhaps the biggest reason millions of users have been flocking to Threads. Recently, Musk announced a limit to tweet viewing for Blue subscribers and non-subscribers. He also paywalled Tweetdeck. Zuckerberg releasing Threads this week could not have come at a better time.
It is extremely early to call Threads a runaway hit. Yes, the app has crossed 50 million sign-ups and is expected to keep growing at a steady pace for the next few days. But are people joining Threads because Twitter is broken? Will people stop using Threads once the novelty of it wears off? Will people leave Threads if Zuckerberg injects ads and doesn’t add key features currently missing? We should have the answer to some of these questions in a few weeks.
In the end, the success and longevity of Threads will depend on whether Threads actually serves as a good alternative to Twitter or not. It is far from a good app right now. It is attractive because people want a change of scenery right now. But if Zuckerberg can retain users by adding useful features, tweaking the iffy ones, and completely ignoring the ones Musk announced for Twitter, he might be able to avoid a Clubhouse-like fate for Threads.
