As promised, Meta launched its response to Twitter in the form of Threads. The app was launched last Thursday and quickly became a success with more than 10 million downloads worldwide. The app arrives as a key rival to the 16-year-old Twitter. Now many users are asking whether Threads will be able to overcome Twitter and replace Elon Musk’s social media or will be forgotten in the near future. If you’re still curious about how the Threads app compares to Twitter, we have listed some of the key differences between these two apps. While their proposal is similar, there are some differences between them. These differences may allow both apps to co-exist, but it will be up to users to decide.
Threads by Meta look a lot like Twitter. However, the Internet community is not totally sold on the idea that “Threads will destroy Twitter”. Hence, we decided to list some of the differences between these two platforms.
The Top 5 Differences Between Threads and Twitter
1 – Availability
Twitter has been around for 16 years ago as a website and gained popularity with this simple purpose. However, it was quick to adapt itself to smartphones with Android and iOS apps being developed as soon as mobile navigation has become a standard.
Threads, on the other hand, is an app-only service. It means that it’s available only via the iOS and Android app stores, meaning for the exclusive mobile experience. We can’t discard a version for desktops in the future. Instagram’s focus of the experience is on mobile apps, but the platform also has a lesser desktop version that came later to complement the experience. Since Threads is “an Instagram app” we expect it to follow in the footsteps of its father app. However, for now, users are limited to the mobile version.
2 – Account sync
On Twitter, it’s possible to use multiple login options. You can either pick your email, phone number, and even just the username. The account is independent and is not tied to any other app. It just borrows log information.
Threads are directly synced and dependent on your Instagram account. Currently, there is no other way to log in to Threads apart from your Instagram account and vice versa. Threads cannot even be deleted without deleting your Instagram account. This last bit raised controversy among users that feel stuck after creating their Threads account. They cannot delete the account without losing Instagram in the process. The only option, for now, is to disable their profile through the Deactivate Account option.
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3 – Price and Verification
Prior to Musk’s regime, Twitter’s main experience was totally free and the verification process was also part of this free use. However, since Elon Musk took the helm, he has been pushing forward the Twitter Blue subscription, compromising the free experience for some users. Twitter Blue users can enjoy additional word count, and no ads, and the verification blue mark is now tied to the plan.
Meta also followed suit with Instagram but only offers the verification mark as a service. Threads verification is transferred from Instagram and so is only a blue tick whereas Twitter Blue is a blue tick with other benefits. Both platforms are charging almost the same amount of $8.
4 – Multimedia Posts on Threads and Twitter
Both platforms allow the user to post website links, videos, and images. One user can post GIFs on both services as well. However, one requires you to save the GIF to the camera roll first to be able to post it on Threads. Alongside that, one can post more images and videos at once on Threads. Twitter has a limit of four items per tweet. Threads also allow you to share 10 items in a single post, which is similar to the carousel posts on Instagram.
5 – Text Limit and Feed Curation
Twitter was made popular with its 140-character limit. In fact, social media created a new way for users to express themselves across the web. With this limit, users would need to be able to express their thinking in a short way. The limit was revised to 280 later and with Twitter Blue, the limitation is scrapped.
Threads are in the between by offering users up to 500 characters, which is a decent amount as standard. Apart from the text limit, there is no way to text someone privately on Threads. Twitter’s DM feature is missing on Threads, at least for now.
Threads do not allow a user to search for anything apart from usernames and accounts. The hashtags are also not present in the app. The app’s feed also shows posts from everyone, regardless of whether a user follows the account or not. Twitter, on the other hand, offers two feed options. One is curated on the basis of user preferences and the other on the basis of the following.
Apart from this, Threads won’t disturb you with ads along your navigation. However, don’t put your hopes high on this last bit. This will likely change in the future as Meta will likely need to monetize the app.
Conclusion – Threads still has a long road ahead
As we can conclude there are still some key differences between Twitter and Threads. For now, we can’t say that Threads is the “Twitter killer” that some users were suggesting. The app seems to be here to offer a similar experience but is still in its early days. There are some key features missing, some that could make the platform more attractive in comparison to its main rival.
For now, we believe that both Threads and Twitter will co-exist. It’s up to their creators and maintainers to determine if one will overcome the other.