Facebook owner Meta is launching its new app to rival Twitter and says it will go live on Thursday.
The app, which
is called Threads and is available for pre-order on the Apple App Store, will
be linked to Instagram.
Screengrabs show
a dashboard that looks similar to Twitter. Meta describes Threads as a
"text based conversation app".
The move is the
latest in a rivalry between Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter owner Elon
Musk.
Last month, the
pair agreed to a physical fight, though it is unclear how serious the two men
were about actually holding a bout.
"Thank
goodness they're so sanely run", Mr Musk
responded to a tweet about Threads, in an apparent fresh swipe at Mr
Zuckerberg.
Meanwhile,
Twitter has said that the popular user dashboard, TweetDeck will go behind a
paywall in 30 days time.
The move is the
latest push by Mr Musk as he tries to get users to sign up to Twitter's
subscription service, Twitter Blue.
On
Saturday, the
multi-billionaire restricted the number of tweets users could see, citing
extreme "data scraping".
It appears from
Meta's Threads app that it will be a free service - and there will be no
restrictions on how many posts a user can see.
"Threads is
where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care
about today to what'll be trending tomorrow" the description on the App
Store says.
Pictures show
screengrabs from the app, that look almost identical to Twitter.
It being a Meta
app, Threads will also hoover up data on your phone, including location data,
purchases and browsing history.
Several apps
that bear a striking resemblance to Twitter have sprung up in recent years -
such as Donald Trump's Truth Social and Mastodon.
Another similar
app, Bluesky claimed to have seen "record" traffic after Mr Musk's
move to restrict usage at the weekend.
However, Threads
could be the biggest threat faced by Twitter to date.
Mark Zuckerberg
has a history of borrowing other company's ideas - and making them work.
Meta's Reels is
widely seen as a TikTok copy, while Stories looks similar to Snapchat.
Meta has the
resources to compete with Twitter. Threads will be part of the Instagram
platform, so it will also be connected to hundreds of millions of accounts.
It's not starting from zero, as other would-be rivals have had to do.
Although Mr Musk
has been praised in some quarters for his commitment to free speech, he has
also alienated some users.
Mr Zuckerberg
will hope he can pull enough disenchanted users away from Twitter to create a
genuine alternative.
By James Clayton, North America technology reporter || BBCNEWS
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