Rivaling Snapchat, Threads will allow users to automatically share their location, movements, and battery life with their Instagram ‘close friends’ list.
As reported by
The Verge, Threads are going to be a
companion app to Instagram, promoting constant sharing between users and
their Instagram ‘close
friends’ list. The app will permit users to automatically share
their location, movements, and battery life with one another, as well as
send text, photo, and video messages.
The development may be seen as another plan to rival Snapchat – which already lets users share their location – following
Instagram’s introduction of Stories 3 years ago.
Instagram has been making an attempt to develop the messaging side of
its app since late 2017 once the corporate started performing on Direct, a
standalone camera-first app solely for
DMs. The platform ceased work in May this year after analysis revealed users
found it frustrating to switch apps once they needed to send a message – though this is precisely what
happened with Facebook messenger in
2016.
Screenshots acquired by The Verge show that users have the choice to switch on automatic
sharing, however are also able to update their
statuses manually. Though Threads
encourages friends to share their location with each other, it’ll reportedly
show updates like ‘on the move’, instead
of a real-time location.
The app’s main feed will show all messages, as well as friends’ updates and active standing, and will permit users to look at their close friends’ Instagram stories as opposed to having to go back to Instagram to look at them.
This announcement comes after variety of updates to the platform, together with the removal of
likes, an anti-bullying
feature, and a tool to report fake news.
Although, there’s presently no
launch date for Threads, and given Instagram’s history with disorganized trials, it may never even happen.