Comparisons

What is the difference between Threads and Twitter?

In this article, we will talk about the new social networking platform, Threads, affiliated with Meta, and the most important differences between Threads and the Twitter platform.

What is the difference between Threads and Twitter

Without further ado, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and sole owner of Meta, announced Threads on July 6, which is a perfect alternative to Twitter.

The Threads application was able to harvest more than 10 million users within the first hours of its launch, although the application is not available in the European region except for the United Kingdom, and had it not been for these restrictions, it would have invaded Europe with more millions of users.

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The idea of ​​developing the Threads application was a good idea and at a very strategic time, as the announcement of the new platform came very few days after the new Twitter laws announced by Elon Musk regarding the maximum number of tweets that new accounts and verified accounts can see per day.

Elon Musk has caused millions of dissatisfaction with the laws that have been announced, to the extent that many of the pioneers of the platform are looking for alternatives. Therefore, you can say that Mark Zuckerberg's move towards launching Threads was a decisive and smart move and at a very strategic time.

Threads was launched as a replacement for the popular social network, Twitter, and is closely linked to your Instagram account. This makes sense since both Instagram and Threads are owned by the same parent company, Meta.

And definitely a good idea if you want to start creating an account on your new social network. But before you get started, you need to know the most important differences between Threads and Twitter.

First: Threads requires an Instagram account

Threads requires an Instagram account

Threads is a Meta app, and as indicated by the name of the app “Threads. An Instagram app” is closely linked to an Instagram account. Of course, this is not the company's only instant communication platform, there are many other platforms that can connect people from all over the world and put them at one table including Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram.

But in order to be able to start creating a Threads account, you will have to use your Instagram account, or of course already have an Instagram account. You will be able to retrieve many Instagram data to your Threads account and this includes username, display name, display picture and more bio and friends data.

But Threads gives you more flexibility in terms of what they can follow you and what you can follow. As for the Twitter platform, it only requires your email address or mobile phone number and is not linked to any other type of social media platform.

Second: Threads is not yet available as a desktop application

Threads is not yet available as a desktop app

Mark recently announced that the beta version of the Threads app is now available for Android and iOS users, and the app will only be available on smartphone and tablet platforms.

At the moment, you cannot use Threads on desktop platforms currently (desktop or laptop) as there is no desktop app available yet, but there is a web-based version of the app but it is not yet in use.

We do not know if this will change in the future or not. But generally, right now, you can't use Threads on desktop, which would be a huge hindrance for many users who want to check their feed while they're on desktop.

As for the Twitter network, it does not impose these restrictions on the method of use, as Twitter is available in the form of an application for smartphones, as well as on the desktop through a web browser.

Thus, you will have no problem signing up for Twitter whether you are using your smartphone or a Windows or macOS computer.

Third: Threads does not support direct messages or GIFs

Threads does not support direct messages or GIFs

At launch, Threads lacks a large number of essential features that are easy to find on other competing platforms. Perhaps this reflects Zuckerberg's urgency and interest in launching the platform as soon as possible to take advantage of the falling popularity of the Twitter platform and the discontent of the platform's pioneers in the recent period after Musk's provocative laws.

Currently, Threads does not support direct messages, so you will not be able to talk to anyone on the platform. However, there are reports that the company is still working on making the feature available through future updates, which makes sense given that it's an essential feature on the Instagram app.

Also, Threads does not support animated GIFs while creating new posts. Instead, you will have to make do with phrases, text sentences, and traditional pictures or videos.

Let's just say again that Threads' lack of this feature doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be obsolete all the time, but the gist of the point is that there are actually several key features the app lacks that are still available on Twitter - since we're comparing the new app to the Bluebird platform. .

Fourth: Twitter supports a larger number of words if you are one of the users documented with the blue tick

Twitter supports a higher word count if you are a blue tick user

At this point, Meta has confirmed that the character limit per post on Threads is only 500 characters. But we do not know whether this situation is subject to change in the future or not. We also don't know if these restrictions apply to new users only or if they also include verified users on Instagram.

But either way, users' Threads accounts will be verified on Threads as long as their Instagram accounts are verified.

As for Twitter, there has been a storm of criticism recently regarding the new blue tick subscription service's policy. Which requires users to pay a monthly fee in order to enjoy the blue tick verification feature.

Standard users will only be able to write posts with a character limit of 280 characters, while blue-checked users will be able to post posts with a character limit of 25,000 characters per single post.

Fifth: The Threads platform is free of advertisements - until now

Threads is ad-free - for now

Threads is launched without any ads. This is relatively expected given that the platform is still in its early stages. It is expected that the conditions will change in the next stage, since the parent company is a profitable company in nature.

And the statement of the founder of Mita came as an affirmation of our expectations, as Mark mentioned in his recent post on the Threads application that there are plans to pump ads on the new platform, which will be in line, in one way or another, with the same ads that appear on both Facebook and Instagram.

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For the Twitter platform, the ads that appear on the platform are approved with the word “Promoted” or “Promoted” and these ads may be sourced from advertising companies or ads for followers.

In any case, regardless of the category of users – whether they are verified with a blue tick or not – everyone sees Promoted ads on Twitter and this is not going to change any time soon.

Sixth: Twitter contains the feature of trends and hot topics

Twitter contains the feature of trends and hot topics

At the present stage, Threads is a very simple and basic social media platform. The platform lacks a large number of crucial features, chief among them the hot topics feature or the most popular users on the platform.

Once you install the application on your phone, you will get a regular and traditional welcome screen, like the welcome screens on competing social platforms, and then you will get a search bar that enables you to find what you want to find.

As for the Twitter network, especially trends are very popular features, or we also know them as hashtags. Through it, you can see the popular and trending topics in your area or even in other parts of the world.

Thanks to this feature, you can easily reach many other users on the platform. However, we expect Threads to improve over time to provide the features that make it a great competitor to the Twitter platform.

Conclusion

Zuckerberg was able to take advantage of the congestion of social media pioneers about the laws and restrictions that Musk imposed on the Twitter platform in the recent period. All the first indications, the statistics of Threads and the number of downloads it amassed in the first hours of its launch, confirm that it has indeed succeeded in its endeavor.

However, the Threads platform is still very naive and lacks a large number of features, and perhaps this is what prompted the Twitter founder to declare that “Threads lacks originality.”

But the platform is expected to be enhanced with more impressive features in the next phase.

Ibrahim Turki

I have been working in the electronic press for years and have a passion for reading and writing about various technical news. You'll find me writing about computers, smartphones, operating systems, applications, and even networks and the Internet. I always strive to provide elegant and simple visual content that suits technology followers in our Arab world.
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