What is Instagram’s Threads app? All your questions answered

Twitter alternatives — new and old — have found audiences willing to try out a newer social networks since Elon Musk took over the company in 2022. Mastodon, Bluesky, Spill and T2 are some of the social media platforms people are among them. So is Meta's Threads platform.

What is Threads? How do you create an account?

Threads is Meta’s text-based Twitter rival. It is tied to your Instagram account, so you can create an account by logging in using your Instagram credentials.

How is it different from Twitter?

Currently, there are no paid tiers and ads on the app. However, your verification mark from Instagram is carried over — even if you have paid for Meta Verified. Users can take advantage of their Instagram network to find people to follow.

The app launched more than a year ago, but it doesn’t have Twitter-like features such as long video, direct messages and live audio rooms.

How do you use Threads?

The platform is currently available on iOS and Android in more than 100 countries. However, due to privacy concerns, the app was not currently available in the EU until December 2023. At that time, Meta launched Threads in the region with an option for users to browse the social network without an account sans the ability to publish or interact with other posts.

Because you are logging in through your Instagram account, you will be able to follow all folks that you follow. You will also import your username, name and settings, like block list.

How many users does this thing have?

As of August 2024 — almost 13 months after the launch — Threads has more than 200 million users.

It's been a steady ramp-up. Within hours of launch, Threads crossed the mark of 10 million signups and it reached 100 million users within just five days of launch.

What are the limitations of posting on Threads?

Users can post 500 characters in one post on the app. The post supports images, videos and GIFs. A Thread post supports up to 10 media items. As of July 17, Threads announced that it has to tighten up on rate limits, or limits on how may posts users can view, due to spam attacks.

Can you use Threads on the web?

Yes, you can view posts and also publish from Threads.net.

How do you delete your Threads account?

You can deactivate or delete your Threads account. Until the end of 2023, you had to delete your Instagram account, according to Meta’s “Supplemental Privacy Policy” to delete your Threads account. Meta keeps your data for 30 days after the initial deletion request. If you change your mind, you can cancel deletion within 30 days.

Can you DM people on Threads?

You can’t send a message to users on the app. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said that the goal is to “not build yet another inbox and instead let people send threads to other apps.”

Does Threads have an API?

After testing the API with select partners for a few months, Threads finally launched the public API in June 2024. Developers can build tools to publish posts of users and retrieve their own posts and gain insights about engagement. These tools can't yet help you delete your posts.

Does that mean we will have third-party clients?

At this time, Threads API has limitations, like not allowing developers to fetch timeline data. So it is not possible to create an alternative clients for Threads.

Is Threads part of the fediverse?

Partially. Earlier this year, Threads started an experiment to let users share their posts to the fediverse. So if users turn on fediverse sharing, people on other compatible ActivityPub networks like Mastodon can follow them and see their posts. Threads also allows users on the fediverse to like Threads posts. The company is also planning to share your posts to the fediverse even if you publish them through a tool using Threads API.

What are some features that are currently missing from Threads?

• Full Fediverse integration

• Scheduling posts (coming soon)

• Direct messages

• Support for lists

• Support for third-party clients

What are Threads' data collection practices?

Because you are using an Instagram account to log in to Threads, Meta says that “it is part of your Instagram account.” Users have already raised questions about the app’s data collection, given the privacy labels mentioned in the App Store.

In answer to queries about the app's privacy labels on the App Store, Meta's deputy chief privacy officer Rob Sherman said last year that these labels are similar to the company's other apps.

"The labels are similar to the rest of our apps, including Instagram, in that our social apps receive whatever info (including the categories of data listed in the App Store) you share in the app," he said in a Threads post at the time.

This story originally published July 6, 2023, and was updated to include recent updates.