Facebook has launched a new standalone messaging app for Instagram called Threads.
The new application connects users to their “close friends” on Instagram in a dedicated, camera-first inbox. It builds on functionalities already available in Instagram messaging like chat, photo and video messages.
Threads’ added functionalities include the ability to share statuses manually or automatically based on location, speed, movement and phone battery levels.
The app opens directly to a camera interface, which you can customize with up to eight shortcuts to friends or group chats — the equivalent of a speed-dial list.
In its announcement, Instagram said it hopes Threads “can bring you a little closer to the people you care about.”
While Facebook – Instagram’s parent company – is battling privacy concerns, Threads is betting on people still wanting to share intimate details online, but to their inner circle only, according to Bloomberg.
With statuses and a location function already available on rival app Snapchat, the Threads app could bring the two platforms into even closer competition.
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Takara Small, technology journalist and VentureKids founder, said it’s worth noting that Snapchat has recently seen a surge in the younger demographic. She says that with the new Threads app, it’s apparent that Instagram is looking to convert the younger generation into their ecosystem.
In 2016, Instagram introduced Instagram stories — ephemeral photo or video posts that can be embellished with text, GIFs and interactive elements — a feature that was, until then, a cornerstone of Snapchat’s offering.
Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, added the ability to share stories to an inner circle of close friends in November 2018, saying: “Sometimes what you want to share isn’t for everyone.”
Here’s what some social media users had to say about Threads:
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