RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
July 18, 2023
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This is for devices that use social media
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has made a history of copying features from other platforms. This time, Meta has launched Threads, a social media app connected to Instagram that works more like Twitter and should eventually connect to Mastodon.
Meta, as the maker of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has been after Twitter for many, many years. The company attempted to buy Twitter back in 2008, but that did not work out. Last year, Elon Musk acquired Twitter, and then promptly ran it into the ground. That has led to a surge in popularity for Twitter-like platforms, and now Meta’s app is live.
What Is Threads
Threads is a micro-blogging platform that looks and feels just like Twitter, letting you post texts up to 500 characters. This is almost twice Twitter’s 280-character standard limit, but still just enough for posts to not look like so much text. The platform itself is heavily linked to Instagram, and if you have an Instagram account, you can sign up for Threads with a couple of taps. All handles are pre-reserved; your username on Instagram will be your username on Threads. Refer to the below image of Threads:
Threads is actually seeing plenty of adoption, with the platform getting up to 20 million users within the first hours of launch. However, many of those accounts are brands instead of actual people. Instagram’s user base is in the billions, so we can only expect this number to keep increasing as time passes.
As it keeps growing, we can also expect a number of other changes, too. Threads is supposed to play nice with Mastodon and the Fediverse, and it will be getting ActivityPub support down the road. The exact degree to which Mastodon and Threads will be interoperable remains to be seen, but you will be able to follow and interact with Mastodon users from Threads. Likewise, Mastodon users will be able to follow Threads users by using their full username, such as “@john@threads.net.”
Pause Before You Download
Be aware of Threads Privacy Policy and the Dara the app collects. In our opinion, the app collects way too much data about you. This includes Data from your: Health/Fitness, Financial info, Contact info, User Content, Browsing history, Usage data, Diagnostics, Purchases, Location, Contacts, Search history, Identifiers, Sensitive data, and Other data.
In contrast, Facebook and Instagram only track Contact info, Identifiers, and Other data.
According to its Privacy Policy, you cannot delete your Threads account, until you delete your Instagram account. You can deactivate your Threads account at any time but you can not delete your Threads account without also deleting your Instagram account.
Our Summary
We recommend you wait until the Data collection and Privacy Policy issues are addressed.
If You Want to Download the App
If you want to give it a spin, Threads is now available from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. In the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the app name is “Threads, an Instagram app”. There are other Threads apps, so ensure you download the correct one.
Disclaimer
Technology is always changing and rarely is there static tech for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.
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