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Imagine if Instagram told you when your friends are home, at work, in school, or hanging out. Well, with the release of Instagram’s new companion app Threads, you will always know what your friends are up to! Threads is a messaging app for only your closest friends that allows you to share photos, videos, and texts instantly. Threads allows you to show your close friends your location, accelerometer, and even your phone’s battery percentage! This app is speculated to be the next big thing in the world of social media. Thinking about giving Threads a try? Here is what you need to know:
- Threads launched Thursday, October 3 on iOS and Android
- Threads is owned by Facebook and Instagram
- You can still use direct message on Instagram, or the two in parallel
- It is an app made specifically for close friends to communicate with one another
- Instagram’s director of consumer product management told sources that Threads is meant to offer “persistent connection”
- The overall goal of Threads to provide users with more connections throughout their day, in the quickest and easiest way possible
- Threads is similar to Snapchat but without the annoying channels and unnecessary alerts… could Threads act as a “new and improved” Snapchat?
Is Threads the New Snapchat?
It appears as if Threads aims to improve the features that we’ve all grown tired of on Snapchat… such as the unsolicited alerts and channels, the random friend requests and messages, etc. If you are sick of random people sliding into your DMs, Threads may be the answer to your prayers! The purpose of Threads is to connect you with close friends, which is why only people on your Instagram close friends list will show up in Threads. The result is simple: all notifications, alerts, and messages on Threads are important and relevant. Threads is a separate app from Instagram. This means that if the app is a total failure, Instagram has little to lose. In the more likely case that Threads is a huge success, it could be the next big social media platform!
A Look at the Threads App
What is the app like? What should I expect? Upon opening Threads, you will be greeted with the camera immediately, just like Snapchat. The bottom of the screen will allow you to access what they call “camera shortcuts,” that show your friends’ faces! You simply tap once on the friend you would like to message a photo to or hold down on the friend’s face to send a video. The app focuses on speed, which is why there are no filters or masks. There are however simple drawing and text overlays for quick and easy commentary. When you swipe up from the camera you will be greeted with your Threads inbox. Here, you can access all of your conversations for a messaging experience similar to your DMs on Instagram. You can send GIFs, photos from your camera roll, texts, and more! With status, you have the ability to set an emoji as your away message. This can include custom messages, or premade ones such as “free,” “busy,” or “studying.”
Why Should You Care?
You may be wondering– What’s the big deal? What makes Threads better than other messaging apps? Threads may change how we use social media. On other forms of social media, such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc., we add too many people as friends, filling out feeds with photos and statuses we simply don’t care to see on a daily basis. Threads aims to change that. Threads is meant to be used with your closest friends, allowing a more intimate feed of updates, photos, and messages! Threads will act as a space for you to post whatever your heart desires, simply because your boss, coworkers, and neighbors will not be able to see your latest videos, photos, and statuses. Only your closest friends will be able to enter your inbox, and you have complete control over who is on your close friends list. In addition, the app’s location service focuses more on what your friends are doing rather than where your friends are. Given that the app only shares your whereabouts with your closest friends, privacy is not jeopardized. So, what are you waiting for? All you need is an Instagram account to sign up!
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