Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is reportedly planning to launch its rumoured competitor to Twitter in mid-July, says Alex Heath, deputy editor of The Verge.
The new text-based app, internally known as Project 92 and potentially to be named Threads externally, is part of Meta’s strategy to expand its social media footprint
The company has been actively inviting high-profile celebrities and creators to join the platform, promising a “sanely” run platform. This comment reportedly sparked the recent suggestion by Elon Musk for a fight between him and Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO.
The new app is expected to be promoted within Instagram, providing it with a significant source of users from the get-go. Users will be able to auto-fill their account information from Instagram, allowing for a quick start on the new platform. Meta is aiming for tens of millions of users within the first few months of the app’s launch.
Previously leaked screenshots of ‘Project 92’ show an interface that looks like Instagram, leveraging the same font, icons and more from the latter, with a tag line for the app as “What’s your take?”. Users will get a main feed for the app, plus the ability to reply to people as well. Icons show the ability to like, ‘retweet’ and direct message what people are saying within the app.
In addition to leveraging Instagram, the upcoming app will also allow users to import existing account information and posts from other ActivityPub servers. This means users could potentially move all their content from platforms like Mastodon into Meta’s new app.
However, posts hosted on Meta’s server will be subject to Facebook’s content moderation rules. This could have a significant impact across the Fediverse, a decentralized network of social media platforms that use the ActivityPub protocol.
Meta has been holding meetings with leaders from large ActivityPub servers, including Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko, to discuss the plan under non-disclosure agreements. Aware of the skepticism from ActivityPub power users, Meta is planning to create a roundtable for administrators of other servers and developers to share best practices and address potential issues, such as Meta’s server traffic straining smaller servers.
