Instagram had already had a Threads app. It was focused on our closest friends (and yes, it ended up failing)

We are witnessing the deployment of Threads, a Meta application that is positioned as Twitter’s direct rival and that, although it is not available within the European Union, it is possible to install it on iPhone and Android phones. The name Threads is probably familiar to you. If so, you are correct.

It is no secret that the company led by Mark Zuckerberg has a tendency to develop independent applications for certain features of its social networks. On Facebook, to name a few examples, he launched Messenger and Groups. And on Instagram he repeated the formula with IGTVBoomerangs, etc.

Threads, an Instagram app to interact with close friends

Before the social media company launched a purge of accumulated applications launched a curious proposal called Threads. It was about one messaging app Designed to share text, photos, videos and Stories with our closest Instagram friends privately.

After installing it we found three main components. On the one hand we had the camera, which allowed us to capture photos and videos to share directly with our closest circle. At the bottom we could add shortcuts to our favorite friends.

We also had an inbox fed solely by direct messages from that small circle. And finally, a component called Auto Status whose mission was monitor our activities so that our friends automatically knew what we were doing at all times.

The equation for this was pretty simple: if you can’t reply every time, let your friends know what you’re doing, and we’ll automatically do it for you. The system then learned from our habits and updated the status with, for example, “at home” or “on the go”.

While Auto Status did not share location with our contacts, the functionality raised privacy concerns. Is that the application not only accessed geolocation data of our mobile, but also to the battery level, movement, network connection and more.

After the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandals, Facebook (now Meta) apparently wanted to avoid further controversy. In this sense, it announced that the location data would not be used for advertising purposes and that once it was sent to its servers it would be stored temporarily.

In any case, Threads did not have the expected success and followed the same path as other Instagram applications: it ended up closing. Users could use it until the end of 2021. Now, as we can see, that name is back on the scene, but hand in hand with Meta’s strategy to win Twitter users.

The new Threads is having a successful rollout. Since its launch on July 5, more than 70 million users have registered and the number of publications has exceeded 95 million. It should be noted that the way to start using the application is very fast, since it is based on existing Instagram profiles.

It is still too early to draw conclusions. Threads is so far a “paradise” without advertising, scenario that could change. Mark Zuckerberg assures that it has in mind reaching 1,000 million users and, from that moment, launching its monetization plan. Will Threads survive? In time we will know.

Images: instagram

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