Northern Ireland

Twitter rival Threads is launched, but not in Ireland

The logo for Meta’s new app Threads. Picture by Richard Drew/AP
The logo for Meta’s new app Threads. Picture by Richard Drew/AP

Millions of people may have joined Twitter rival, Threads, but for those living in the Republic, it will not be on offer for the foreseeable future.

The new app, created by Facebook and Instagram owners Meta, went live in the UK and United States at midnight on Thursday.

Within its first few hours, more than 10 million people had signed up to Threads, according to Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg.

Linked to Instagram and billed as an alternative to Twitter, it allows users to post up to 500 characters of text and up to five minutes of video and links, as well as pictures.

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The launch of the platform was brought forward by 15 hours and made freely available in 100 countries.

And while those living in Northern Ireland are able to sign up, it is not yet available in the Republic and the European Union due to regulatory concerns.

It has been reported that due to GDPR and EU privacy rules, Meta is holding back from launching the service in Ireland and the EU.

It has been reported that Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has said that the app will not be available in the Republic "at this point”.

It remains unclear when, or if, Meta will launch Threads in Ireland and the EU.

Threads focuses on text-based conversations, with users able to like, share and comment on other users posts, directly port over Instagram followers and following lists, and use their existing Instagram username on the platform.

Posting on the new app under the username zuck and using a "mind blown" emoji, Mr Zuckerberg wrote on Thursday: "10 million sign up in seven hours."

He said earlier: "I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it.

"Hopefully we will."

The platform is directly linked with Instagram, which has more than two billion users. Twitter is estimated to have over 350 million users.

Threads, created by Facebook and Instagram owners Meta, went live in the UK at midnight. Picture by Thibault Camus/ AP
Threads, created by Facebook and Instagram owners Meta, went live in the UK at midnight. Picture by Thibault Camus/ AP

Mr Zuckerberg suggested that Threads would be a more wholesome alternative to Twitter.

"The goal is to keep it friendly as it expands. I think it's possible and will ultimately be the key to its success," he said.

The new app is the latest chapter in the rivalry between Mr Zuckerberg and Mr Musk, who bought Twitter in October.

Last month, the pair - two of the world's most high-profile billionaires - agreed to take each other on in a cage fight in an exchange that went viral on social media.