Feeling the heat, Elon? Threads reaches 50million users as Twitter accuses Mark Zuckerberg’s project of being a ‘copycat’ – but users slam ‘boring’ app which harks back to social media’s heyday with old viral memes

• Instagram and Facebook owner Meta launched Threads app on Wednesday night
• Threads has seen nearly 100million posts and 190million likes in first 24 hours 
• * Follow the Daily Mail on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@dailymail * 

Meta’s fast-growing Twitter rival app Threads has already hit 50million users and seen nearly 100million posts in an extraordinary first 24 hours after it launched.

The Instagram and Facebook owner launched the hotly-anticipated app at midnight on Wednesday night in Britain, and it has also now had 190million likes.

Social media users posted memes joking how the success is a big win for Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg in his battle with Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in October.

Meanwhile some users have slammed Threads for being ‘boring’ after some major brands jumped on board and attempted to be funny. Others said it harked back to the earlier days of Twitter when old memes such as ‘The Dress’ quickly went viral.

MailOnline’s Rob Waugh spent 12 hours on the app yesterday and said: ‘It’s so similar that as the day has unfolded, ‘classic’ Twitter virals such as the dress which could either be blue-and-black or white-and-gold have cropped up on Threads.’

But Twitter has threatened to sue Meta over Threads, alleging that it stole trade secrets. However, Meta has fought back by appearing to deny that former Twitter employees worked on the creation of the app and used insider knowledge.

Mr Zuckerberg wrote on Threads at about 4pm UK time yesterday that more than 30million people had signed up to his new rival messaging app.

Then, a post on Threads by Alex Heath, editor at news website The Verge, about eight hours later at midnight last night UK time, said: ‘This app has surpassed 48 million sign-ups, per internal Meta data shared with me.’

About one hour later at 1am this morning, New York-based digital communications expert Joe Scannell posted that the app had seen ’50million sign ups in a little over 24 hours’, describing the figure of 50,086,772 as ‘wild’.

Threads: What is it, can it rival Twitter and what are the risks? 

Threads, an app to rival Twitter from the creators of Facebook, has now launched but security fears still loom.

The app went live in the UK at midnight on Thursday and has already got 50million users. Here are answers to some of the most common questions many may have about Threads:

– What is Threads?

Similar to Twitter, the new social media app focuses on text posts.

It allows users to post up to 500 characters of text and up to five minutes of video and links, as well as pictures.

How do you sign up?

The Threads app can be downloaded from Google Play Store or the Apple Pay Store onto an Android or iOS device.

Those who already have an Instagram account can use their login details to sign into the app, with users being able to select if they want a private or public profile before they start posting.

How is the app similar to Twitter?

Visually, Threads looks similar to Twitter, with options to post, quote a thread, search, like and reply to posts and view ‘activity’ linked to what you post – which is also the case for Twitter through ‘notifications’.

The column-based design of Twitter also seems to have been replicated by Threads, with users scrolling vertically through the app to view what others are posting.

There is also a verification option, which currently appears to give a blue verified tick to accounts already verified on Instagram.

How does the app differ from Twitter?

Unlike Twitter, Threads does not currently have an option of directly messaging other users, and there is no desktop version at the moment.

Other features that Twitter has that Threads does not include lists, bookmarks and the ability to join communities.

Threads also does not appear to use hashtags and searching for words and phrases posted by users instead of the names of specific accounts, which has historically been easy to do on Twitter, seems to be limited.

Are there security or privacy fears?

Many have voiced concerns about the app’s use of personal data, with reports stating the app has not launched in the European Union (EU) on Thursday because of this issue and the implementation of the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

There is still uncertainty about how the app will use data from users, but many have pointed to alleged risks surrounding its launch – including Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

‘All your Threads are belong to us,’ he posted, alongside a widely shared screenshot of the privacy section for Threads on the App Store – which suggests the app will collect data including financial information, contacts and browsing history.

Current Twitter owner Musk replied to the tweet, posted on Tuesday, simply stating: ‘Yeah.’

What have social media users said?

Celebrities have already began flocking to Threads, with singer Shakira posting ‘Well hello threads’.

Chef Gordon Ramsey posted: ‘Is this where I find the lamb sauce??’

Meanwhile, businessman Richard Branson wrote: ‘Thready, steady, go.’

Others have shared their hopes for the new app or expressed their relief from having a new social media tool to use instead of Twitter.

One posted a cartoon image of a mythical creature performing a yoga pose, with the caption: ‘How it feels not being on Twitter for three seconds.’

However, on Twitter, many did not appear sold by the new app – with one tweet with over 1,000 likes stating users are ‘running back to Twitter’ after trying Threads ‘for five minutes’.

It comes after a cease-and-desist letter was sent to Mr Zuckerberg by a lawyer acting for Twitter claiming Threads is a ‘copycat’ of the Musk-owned platform.

The lawyer for Twitter, Alex Spiro, accused Meta of engaging in ‘systemic, wilful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property’.

The letter, which was first reported by Semafor, accused Meta of hiring ‘dozens’ of former Twitter employees who ‘have access to Twitter’s trade secrets and other highly confidential information’.

In a tweet referencing the letter yesterday evening, Twitter owner Elon Musk said: ‘Competition is fine, cheating is not.’

On Threads, Meta communications director Andy Stone posted in relation to the report: ‘No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee – that’s just not a thing.’

US copyright law does not cover ideas so Twitter will need to prove that intellectual property has been stolen if the dispute is taken to court.

The platform’s launch was brought forward by 15 hours and made freely available in 100 countries, although it is not yet available in the EU due to regulatory concerns.

Linked to Instagram, it allows users to post up to 500 characters of text and up to five minutes of video and links, as well as pictures.

The launch of Threads comes against a backdrop of turbulence at Twitter after it imposed tweet viewing limits at the weekend in a move it partly blamed on data harvesting by companies building artificial intelligence models.

Many users have publicly expressed frustrations with Twitter since Mr Musk took over, partly linked to political views and erratic behaviour, as well as efforts to push more users towards its paid-for Twitter Blue service.

The new app is the latest chapter in the rivalry between Mr Zuckerberg and Mr Musk, who bought Twitter in October.

Last month, the pair – two of the world’s most high-profile billionaires – agreed to take each other on in a cage fight in an exchange that went viral on social media.

Twitter chief executive Linda Yaccarino tweeted yesterday after the rollout of Threads: ‘On Twitter, everyone’s voice matters.

‘Whether you’re here to watch history unfold, discover REAL-TIME information all over the world, share your opinions, or learn about others – on Twitter YOU can be real.

‘YOU built the Twitter community. And that’s irreplaceable. This is your public square. We’re often imitated – but the Twitter community can never be duplicated.’

The platform is directly linked with Instagram, which has more than two billion users. Twitter is estimated to have over 350 million users.

Mr Zuckerberg suggested that Threads would be a more wholesome alternative to Twitter.

‘The goal is to keep it friendly as it expands. I think it’s possible and will ultimately be the key to its success,’ he said.

Users of the new app will be able to use their Instagram login to get started and, like on the picture-sharing platform, can follow and connect with friends and influencers with similar interests.

In the UK, all users under 18 will be defaulted onto a private profile when they join.

Someone’s feed on the app includes threads from people they follow as well as recommended content from creators they have not yet heard of.

Threads posts can be shared on a user’s Instagram story and as a link on other platforms.

People can control who mentions them and who can reply to them on the new app, replies to threads containing specific words can be filtered out and other users can be unfollowed, blocked, restricted and reported.

Any accounts a user has blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on the new app and Instagram’s safety guidelines will be enforced on the new platform, Meta said.

Eventually, the California-based company wants it to be possible for people without a Threads account to interact on the platform, which it hopes will usher in a ‘new era of diverse and interconnected networks’.

If and when this happens, if a user has a public profile their posts will be accessible from other apps while if they have a private one they will have to approve new followers.

Social media consultant and industry analyst Matt Navarra said the app is the ‘first credible threat’ to Twitter.

READ MORE Musk warns Zuck – I’ll SUE: Twitter says Meta’s Threads is a ‘copycat’ and poached dozens of employees to ‘misappropriate’ their trade secrets

He said: ‘I think that Threads is the first real, credible threat to Elon Musk’s Twitter.

‘Users of Twitter are desperately looking for an exit from the platform to escape, and the existing options of rivals are fairly limited.

‘They all have the same big problem, which is you have to start from zero – it’s a network that is completely new.

‘One of the biggest benefits for Meta is that it’s building off the back of Instagram, where people are familiar and can also kick-start their following because it ties into the same social graph.’

He said that while users have an appetite for change, it would be weighed up against mixed public opinions on Meta.

He added: ‘Meta and Instagram comes with baggage, a bad name and bad press. People are very wary and sceptical of anything [Meta owner] Mark Zuckerberg does.’

The arrival of the new app comes after Twitter announced TweetDeck is to become the next part of the company to be limited to users who have paid for verified status.

Two days earlier, Mr Musk announced non-verified users would be limited to reading just 1,000 posts a day.

Kim Kardashian and Rylan Clark are among some of the celebrities to have signed up for Threads.

Twitter has threatened to sue Meta over its fast-growing rival Threads app (file picture)

Threads is now available to download from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for users in more than 100 countries including the UK. Millions have already signed up

After downloading the Threads app, users log in with their Instagram username. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to five minutes in length

The new app lets users filter out replies to your threads that contain specific words, as well as block other people from mentioning you

Gordon Ramsay and Shakira are just a few celebrities who have already posted on Threads

Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama also signed up to the newly launched platform.

READ MORE Can Threads convert a die-hard Twitter addict? After spending 12 hours on app, DailyMail.com’s tech writer says it has all the right ingredients – from return of blue ticks to toned-down algorithms (but it’s missing DMs, hashtags, and other features) 

Former Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two presenter Clark kept his first update short with a photo captioned: ‘Get ya threads out for the ladddsss.’

Chef Gordon Ramsay, known for his Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares series, said in his post: ‘Is this where I find the lamb sauce?’

Colombian pop singer Shakira already has one million followers on the app, whilst reality TV star and businesswoman Kardashian has one and a half million, despite a lack of posts on her profile.

TV personality and model Khloe Kardashian, who is Kim’s sister, is also on the platform and posted a photo with the caption: ‘Oh hi my little threaders’.

Other celebrities such as Paris Hilton, former One Direction members Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey, Dragons’ Den panellists Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett and former Big Brother presenter Davina McCall have also signed up.

Also setting up account were American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, radio DJ Chris Moyles, Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, British singer Louise Redknapp, American rapper Jack Harlow and The Help actress Jessica Chastain.

The site is connected to Instagram so usernames and verification checks can carry over so celebrities can make the move to Threads easily.

Brands and companies including streaming platform Netflix, clothing retailer Pretty Little Thing and supermarket Aldi have also joined the app.

Follow the Daily Mail on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@dailymail

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