Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is preparing to launch its microblogging platform called Threads on July 6 as a direct competitor to Twitter. The app, tightly integrated with Instagram, aims to attract users by offering seamless photo and video sharing capabilities. However, the crypto community on Twitter has shown limited excitement for the upcoming launch. Concerns have been raised regarding data mining, privacy issues, and doubts about the app’s long-term viability.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey recently highlighted Threads’ privacy policy, revealing that Instagram Inc, the developer of Threads, would have access to various user data, including financial information and identifiers. Interestingly, researchers have pointed out that Twitter itself collects similar data and has comparable permissions to Threads. Nevertheless, these concerns have sparked discussions within the crypto community, where many remain loyal to Twitter and express support for “Team Twitter” over “Team Meta.”
Moreover, skepticism arises from Meta’s track record of launching standalone apps that were eventually shut down or had their features incorporated into other products. This history raises doubts about the longevity of Threads as an independent app. Critics argue that Meta follows a pattern of releasing attention-grabbing standalone apps only to later merge their functionalities into Instagram.
The imminent launch of Threads comes shortly after Twitter’s recent rate limit debacle, which temporarily restricts the number of posts users can view per day. Threads seeks to differentiate itself by allowing Instagram users to seamlessly migrate their followers and following lists, eliminating the need to rebuild their online presence from scratch.
It is worth noting that Threads is expected to support ActivityPub, the decentralized social networking protocol behind Mastodon—an alternative, decentralized Twitter rival that has experienced increased user activity in response to Twitter’s restrictions.
As the launch date approaches, the crypto community and privacy-conscious users remain skeptical about Threads’ data handling practices and its ability to provide a robust, sustainable platform. Meta will need to address these concerns and demonstrate the value proposition of Threads to gain traction within the competitive social media landscape.