Threads app launched by Meta as competitor to Twitter

Latest social media app not available in some EU countries at time of launch

Threads is the latest competitor to Twitter. Bloomberg

Meta Platforms on Wednesday launched its new Threads app, marking the highest-profile attempt so far to challenge the primacy of rival social media platform Twitter.

"Threads is here. Let's do this," Mark Zuckerberg said in posts on the latest app as well as Facebook.

Threads was originally scheduled to be launched on Thursday, but a countdown clock on its website showed that it was due to go live at 7pm ET.

Mr Zuckerberg's latest app is meant to be a place “where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what you'll care about tomorrow”, the app said in its Apple Store listing.

The Threads app says users can follow and directly connect with creators and other like-minded users, or build a following of their own.

Instagram users aged 12 and up will be able to log into the app through their Instagram accounts.

But the newest app's data policy was mocked by Twitter chief executive Elon Musk and its founder Jack Dorsey.

Threads screenshot on Apple's App Store. Photo: Screengrab

Threads said users' financial and contact information, browsing history, health and fitness information, usage data, purchases and location may be collected by the app, among others.

“All your Threads are belong to us,” Mr Dorsey wrote in a tweet with a screenshot showing Threads' privacy policy.

Mr Dorsey launched his own competitor to Twitter – Bluesky – earlier this year.

And while a Meta representative said the new app would be available in more than 100 countries, Threads was not available in some EU countries over regulatory concerns.

The app was available for pre-order for users in the UAE.

Threads is seen as the most potent rival to Twitter, which has experienced a period of turbulence since Mr Musk's $44 billion takeover last year.