Meta's 'Twitter killer' Threads app out now: Is it available in UAE?

Facebook parent Meta officially launched Threads, its text-based rival to Twitter, on Wednesday (Thursday, local time) — but its release in Europe has been delayed over data privacy concerns.

In the UAE, the platform is readily available for download from app stores. Khaleej Times has tried installing the app and it was a breeze.

After downloading, it takes just five few clicks to start using the app. No registration is required since it just pulls all the info from one's Instagram account. You'll also be able to instantly follow everyone you follow on IG.

The app went live on Apple and Android app stores at 11pm GMT (3am, UAE time), with accounts already active for celebrities such as Shakira and Jack Black, as well as media outlets including The Hollywood Reporter, Vice and Netflix.

In just four hours, as many as 5 million users have signed up to the app, according to Meta chief executive and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Threads is the biggest challenger yet to Elon Musk-owned Twitter, which has seen a series of potential competitors emerge but not yet replace one of social media's most iconic companies, despite its epic struggles.

"Let's do this. Welcome to Threads," wrote Zuckerberg in his first post on the new platform, which will run with no ads for now.

The app was introduced as a clear spin-off of Instagram, offering it a built-in audience of more than two billion users and thus sparing it the challenge of starting from scratch.

Zuckerberg is widely understood to be taking advantage of Musk's chaotic ownership of Twitter to push out the new product, which the company hopes will become the go-to communication channel for celebrities, companies and politicians.

"It's as simple as that: if an Instagram user with a large number of followers such as Kardashian or a Bieber or a Messi begins posting on Threads regularly, a new platform could quickly thrive," strategic financial analyst Brian Wieser said on Substack.

Analyst Jasmine Engberg from Insider Intelligence said Threads only needs one out of four Instagram monthly users "to make it as big as Twitter".

"Twitter users are desperate for an alternative, and Musk has given Zuckerberg an opening," she added.

Musk and Zuckerberg are known to be bitter rivals — and have even offered to meet each other in a fighting cage to wrestle it out.

This came after a Meta executive reportedly told employees that Threads would be like Twitter, but "sanely run."

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri told users that Threads was intended to build "an open and friendly platform for conversations."

"The best thing you can do if you want that too is be kind," he said.

Under Musk, Twitter has seen content moderation reduced to a minimum with glitches and rash decisions scaring away celebrities and major advertisers.

Musk hired advertising executive Linda Yaccarino to steady the ship, but she has not been spared his whimsy.

The Tesla tycoon said last week that he was limiting access to Twitter to ward off AI companies from "scraping" the site to train their technology.

Musk then angered Twitter's most devoted aficionados by declaring that access to its TweetDeck product -- which allows users to view a fast flow of tweets at once -- would be for paying customers only.

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(With inputs from AFP)