Threads: New social media app from Instagram launches with over 10m sign ups - what is it, how to sign up

The Twitter competitor went live on the app store at midnight UK time on July 6, with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg claiming over 5 million people had signed up to the new app within hours. The text based conversation app comes as Twitter, owned by Elon Musk, faces criticism for limiting the amount of tweets users could see in one day.

In the first few hours of the app launching, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg posted on his Threads account: “Just passed 5 million sign ups in the first four hours.” A few hours later on Thursday morning (July 6), Zuckerberg revealed the number had already doubled, saying: “10 million sign ups in seven hours.”

The new Meta app requires an Instagram account to log in, and once signed up, users can opt to follow the same accounts they follow on the photo and video sharing social network. While visually the app mirrors Twitter, the terminology has been changed - Retweets have been swapped with “reposts” and tweets with “threads.”

According to Instagram, more features will be added to Threads in time, including trending topics.

What is Threads on Instagram

Threads is its own social media platform, which is run by Instagram and linked to your Instagram account.

Threads: How to sign up 

The Threads app is available on the Apple App Store as well as the Google Play Store. After downloading, the app requires an Instagram account to log in, and once signed up, users can opt to follow the same accounts they follow on Instagram.