Meta’s new ‘Twitter killer’ app, Threads, hits over 30 million sign ups

Threads, Meta’s new Twitter rival, has gained over 30 million users in its first day of being available, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as the platform seeks to clone Twitter, which has become increasingly disliked by its users following Elon Musk’s turbulent takeover of the platform last year.

Threads has been widely described as a potential “Twitter killer,” launching at a time when users are revolting against the changes made to the platform since its acquisition, including loosened content moderation, controversial changes to its verification system, a focus on paywalling features such as TweetDeck, and the recent introduction of rate limits, which cap how many tweets users can read.

Elon Musk’s X Corp. has threatened to sue Meta, developers of Facebook and Instagram, following the launch of Threads, saying say it “intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights.”

Threads, which is available now from the App Store, focuses on text-based conversations, with users able to like, share and comment on other users posts, directly port over Instagram followers and following lists, and use their existing Instagram username on the app.