You may have heard of Instagram, a rival to Twitter, which Meta owns. If you are wondering how to download threads on your mobile device (both Android and iOS), you have come to the right place! Meta recently reached 100 million signups in just five days, making it one of the fastest-growing apps in the world. Previously, the fastest-growing application was OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Meta has taken advantage of Twitter’s recent decision to put many features behind a paywall and rate-limit posts. This means that unverified users can only view 600 posts a day.
Meta has become a fast-growing application because users can easily onboard threads by logging in with Instagram and syncing their followers, which means their followers will be notified. Users can also upload their profile and bio. Although the app is still missing some features, the company’s CEO confirmed this week that some are scheduled to be released soon. Ahead of the stable release, the company is inviting users to test the early-beta Threads version via the Google Play Beta Store.
How to download Thread for Android and iOS
You can download Threads on your Android device directly from the Google Play Store and on your iOS device via the App Store by following the links below. Unfortunately, there is no Threads web app available at the moment. However, users can install Threads on Windows via WSA.
Note: The app is not currently available in the EU due to EU data policies. Meta is working on releasing threads in the coming weeks.
Instagram account required
To use Threads, users need an Instagram account. With this, Threads users can easily import their profile, bio, and suggestions for accounts they already follow. You cannot have a dedicated Threads username, meaning you will have the same Instagram handle on Threads.
Additionally, if you create a Threads account, you cannot delete it. Instead, you can deactivate your Threads account. This has raised concerns among many users, privacy experts, and lawmakers about Meta’s data policy and collection. This includes user location, payment details, message access, internet access, gallery access, and more, which is unnecessary for any microblogging site.
Features of threads
Threads have a similar feature to Twitter, where you can post with a character limit of 500 words. This is more than Twitter’s 280-word limit. On top of that, Threads allows you to upload ten images and five minutes of video. One of the most convenient integrated features is that threads can be easily shared over Instagram Stories. This eliminates the need to take screenshots and such.
All of these features seem promising compared to Twitter. However, features like multi-account support, a web-based app, discover, search, hashtags, and more still need to be included.
The Thread app is free but inaccessible via the website since Meta still needs to release a web app or have a functional website. The company does have a website, but it is only for embedding code and sharing links for posts, and you cannot post or interact with it.