Back in July of 2021, word on the street was that Facebook is working on a feature that allowed posts to be arranged in a single thread. The most direct comparison to this was the way Twitter did its tweets. Since then rather than just a feature, it looks like parent company Meta is looking to spin it into a separate app entirely, to compete with the now Elon Musk-owned bird app. And it could be launching as soon as the end of next month.
Digital media marketer Lia Haberman shared on Twitter that Meta has “been briefing creators o its upcoming text-based app”. In addition to the late June launch window, Haberman also mentions that the app is a “decentralised app” built with Instagram at its base, and is made to be compatible with other apps. This compatibility will allow for some pretty robust interoperability, as “users on other apps will be able to search for, follow and interact with your profile and content”. Mastodon was highlighted specifically, likely due to the shared nature of being competitors to the bird app.
Meta’s been briefing creators on it’s upcoming text-based app — now looking at a possible late June launch.
Details are in my newsletter but I’ll list some highlights 🧵 pic.twitter.com/KYqqXjrRmD
— Lia Haberman (@liahaberman) May 19, 2023
Another comparison to Twitter is the fact that in this new text-based app, there will be a character limit of 500, which is notably less than an Instagram caption. Which is weird considering what it is built on. And on that note, some options and controls you’ve set for the photo-sharing app will also carry over, like other accounts, and even words, that you’ve blocked.
Based on a (somewhat blurry) example I got, Meta's new app looks a lot like Twitter.
So, could this take over all the Twitter screenshots we've been seeing on the Feed lately? Maybe.
It’s impossible to predict how audiences will respond but this could be an alternative. pic.twitter.com/xgQa1kUjCl
— Lia Haberman (@liahaberman) May 19, 2023
At the end of the Twitter thread, Haberman has shared an image of what Meta’s competitor to the bird app will look like. And from the two included screenshots in the image, it’s difficult to describe it as anything but an Instagram-Twitter hybrid. But perhaps that’s the idea. And since it is supposed to be launched in a month or so’s time, it won’t be long before we hear directly from Meta about this, if this report is accurate.
(Source: Lia Haberman / Twitter)
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