Threads! A new social network!

Publication date: 17 July 2023

Since 17 July, residents of the European Union (EU) have been banned from accessing the Threads application.A
ccording to Meta* representatives, special measures have been taken to block access. The reason is privacy problems.
Recall that the new social network collects various data about the user (data on finances and health, exact location, search history). This is done to be able to adjust targeting when placing adverts. However, under EU law, Meta* must obtain a legal basis to lawfully process such personal data.
“Europe continues to be an incredibly important market for Meta* and we look forward to making the Threads app available here in the future,” the company said.

Threads in numbers. In the first few days, more than 100 million users downloaded and installed the new app. But after that, the number of active users dropped by about 20% (according to Sensor Tower data), the number of active users on Android devices dropped by more than 25% (Similarweb data). Meanwhile, the average time on the site fell by about 50% to a maximum of 10 minutes.

The new Threads social network was launched on 6 July 2023.  The new app has been available on the App Store since July 4. As stated in the app description, “it is a place… where you can share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the whole world”. According to various sources, between 30 and 50 million people became users of the social network in the first two days. 

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The new social network was developed by Meta* Corporation. The creators specify that Threads is a “text-based Instagram* communication app”, with users able to use their account (use their name and involve friends). 

The new service is also expected to be similar to Twitter: users will be able to post text posts, tag their favourites and comment.  

Features of the Threads social network:

• The app is free.
• Available for iOS 14.0 (or subsequent versions) and for Android.
• The age limit is 12+.
• Languages available: English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Chinese, Turkish (30 languages in total).
• The network is not officially blocked in Russia and the app itself opens freely on 6 July. But because Threads requires logging in to an Instagram account*, there are complications.
• Initially, the monetization and advertising options on Threads were not announced.  Later, the “How Threads works” post stated that “we will use your information to personalize ads”.  Users also report an affiliation with Facebook’s advertising account*.
  

A new Threads account can only be deleted along with your Instagram profile*. However, you can make it inactive at any time.

*The Meta Corporation has been declared extremist and is banned in Russia. Instagram and Facebook services belonging to her have been blocked by a court decision.