Thread by @washingtonpost

A new social platform just dropped.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Threads, a clone of Twitter designed to lure people turned off by the social network’s changes under owner Elon Musk, has 30 million signups as of Thursday morning.

But Threads also comes with Meta baggage, including… https://t.co/9gaxVb4ofAtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Threads may be the first Twitter alternative that really matters because it’s built on top of Instagram’s existing base of billions of users, @geoffreyfowler writes.

Alternatives Mastodon and Bluesky have yet to grow beyond single-digit millions of users. wapo.st/3O5b52g

@geoffreyfowler You’ll need to have an Instagram account to sign up for Threads. Then you can download the Threads app for iOS or Android to set up your account. You’ll use the same name for your Threads account as you do on Instagram. https://t.co/QjHtIBilEdwapo.st/3O5b52g

@geoffreyfowler When you open the Threads app, you’re thrown into a mix of accounts you’ve chosen to follow and algorithmically generated suggestions.

As of now, there’s no way to make Threads show you only the posts from accounts you’ve chosen to follow and no way to clear the home screen of… https://t.co/qcwLfuQdEttwitter.com/i/web/status/1…

@geoffreyfowler Like Twitter, Thread accounts can be either public or private. On a public post, you can also adjust the groups who can reply to everyone, only the accounts you follow or just the ones you mention in the post.

Having said that, Threads is just as hungry for your personal data as… https://t.co/frc5mxZcS4twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

@geoffreyfowler Threads will apply the same content rules that currently exist on Instagram. That means users on Threads won’t be able to praise terrorist or hate groups, buy firearms or make threats against people or groups. https://t.co/opPMUvh7ngwapo.st/3O5b52g

@geoffreyfowler You can include photos and videos in Threads, but they don’t show up as Instagram posts or Reels. You can also share Instagram photos and videos on Reels, but they show up just as regular links.

There aren’t native integrations between the two apps. https://t.co/USFdDPwRDAwapo.st/3O5b52g

@geoffreyfowler You can only delete and deactivate your Threads account by deleting your Instagram account.

In its privacy policy, Meta states: “You may deactivate your Threads profile at any time, but your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account.”… https://t.co/eFn0iT9ptOtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…