Meta, the parent company overseeing Facebook and Instagram, has introduced a new application named Threads, with the goal of rivaling Twitter.

Within the first seven hours of its launch, Threads attracted ten million users, according to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta. The app allows users to post short updates of up to 500 characters, similar to Twitter, and has features that resemble the popular social media platform. Zuckerberg pitched Threads as a "friendly" alternative to Twitter, and experts believe it could attract Twitter users who are unhappy with recent changes to the platform. However, Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in October, criticized the app, stating that it is preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than to indulge in the false happiness of Instagram.

When asked if Threads could be "bigger than Twitter," Zuckerberg stated that while it may take time, he believes there should be a public conversations app with over one billion users. He also noted that Twitter has had the opportunity to achieve this but hasn't been able to do so successfully.

Threads has faced criticism from competitors regarding the amount of data the app may use. The Apple App Store suggests that the app may collect users' health, financial, and browsing data linked to their identities. However, Meta has assured users that privacy considerations are taken into account, allowing users to choose different privacy settings for each app.

Meta's new app benefits from its connection to Instagram, which already has hundreds of millions of users. Users can log in to Threads using their Instagram accounts and follow the same accounts they do on Instagram. This integration gives Threads a built-in user base and advertising apparatus, potentially siphoning ad dollars away from Twitter.

The launch of Threads comes as Twitter faces challenges and controversies, including staffing cuts and content moderation issues. Musk's purchase of Twitter has not resulted in the expected improvements, and its value has plummeted. Zuckerberg sees the challenges faced by public social media forums and believes Threads has the potential to fill the gap that Twitter hasn't been able to address successfully.

While there are alternative platforms to Twitter, such as Bluesky and Mastodon, Threads' connection to Instagram and its large user base give it a significant advantage. The app aims to provide a less toxic environment compared to Twitter and attract users with good vibes, strong community, excellent humor, and less harassment.

Users of Threads have the capability to share posts on Instagram and vice versa, encompassing links, photos, and videos of up to five minutes in duration. Users can control who can mention them and filter out replies containing specific words. They also have the option to unfollow, block, restrict, or report other profiles. Meta has been actively reaching out to social media influencers to attract them to Threads and encourage them to post regularly.

While Meta has had failures launching standalone copycat apps in the past, Threads has the potential to be a strong competitor to Twitter. It remains to be seen how Threads will evolve and whether it can achieve Zuckerberg's vision of a public conversations app with over one billion users.