Sunday, August 16, 2026

Threads: Ten million users join Meta’s new app set to rival Twitter, Zuckerberg says

The new Threads app was launched on Wednesday after many months of speculation and secrecy by the Meta Team.

• July 6, 2023
Threads app
Threads app [Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic]

Meta’s chief, Mark Zuckerberg, stated that ten million users signed up for Meta’s newly launched Threads app in the first seven hours of launch.

The new Threads app was launched on Wednesday after many months of speculation and secrecy by the Meta Team.

Mark Zuckerberg pitched the new Threads app as a friendly rival to Twitter, hoping to tap into the huge success of Instagram to grow its users.

Experts on the matter say Threads could attract Twitter users who are unhappy with the various changes made to the platform since it was bought by Elon Musk back in October.

Threads has similar features to Twitter and allows users to post up to 500 characters.

Mr Zuckerberg commenting on the new app, said that keeping the platform friendly would be its key to success, but Elon Musk thinks otherwise.

Mr Musk responded to Mr Zuckerberg’s claim stating that “It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram.”

Mr Zuckerberg, when engaged on the Threads app, was asked whether he thinks the new app will be bigger than Twitter.

“It’ll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion people on it,” Mr Zuckerberg said.

“Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully, we will,” he added.

According to the BBC, Threads is now available to download in over 100 countries, including the UK, but not yet in the EU because of regulatory concerns.

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