Diksia.com - Meta has just launched a new social media platform called Threads, touted as a “rival” to Twitter.
After Elon Musk acquired Twitter, several similar applications emerged, namely Mastodon and Bluesky.
But until Threads came out, neither app gained significant traction.
But what is the difference between Threads and Twitter?
The following is the review as reported by Tom’s Guide
Account management
To create a Threads account, users need to connect it to Instagram.
When logging in for the first time, the user will be asked if they want to import their Instagram profile details and follow the same users they follow on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Twitter is not tied to other social media platforms.
Twitter users can also delete their accounts at any time without any consequences on other social media platforms.
This is not the case with threads.
If you want to delete Threads account, user must also delete Instagram account.
Instead, there is an option to disable the Threads account to hide the profile and posts until the user decides to enable it again.
Of course, an account deactivation can only be temporary within a certain period of time.
Availability
Twitter started out as a website.
While there are app-based versions for iOS and Android smartphones, Twitter has retained a website version.
This gives users flexibility over where and how they want to access their accounts and feeds.
Meanwhile, Threads is currently only available as a downloadable app on the iOS and Android app stores.
Price
Threads is free to download and use.
There are no ads in threads, but that may change in the future.
Twitter also has ads.
However, many features are available to paid members of the Twitter Blue platform subscription tier.
Twitter Blue costs $8/month or $84/year.
The features available to Twitter Blue users change frequently.
Currently, subscribers have the ability to edit tweets after they’re sent, customize the appearance of the Twitter app icon, and more recently, a higher speed limit on the number of tweets that can be read in a day.
Verification
Users who receive a blue tick in threads are “Legacy” from their account on Instagram.
That is, if a user’s account on Instagram has a blue tick, then their Threads account will also have a blue tick.
Twitter’s verification system is a bit more complicated.
Before Elon Musk took power, Twitter had verification policies similar to Instagram.
Currently, users can purchase a verification badge through a Twitter Blue subscription.
The only exceptions are government accounts, which receive gray checks, while certain organizations and news outlets receive gold checks.
Post
The main difference between Twitter and Threads when it comes to posts is the character limit.
Threads character limit is 500 while Twitter character limit is only 280.
Multimedia
There are some differences between multimedia content on Threads and Twitter.
Users can post links, videos, and images on both sites.
The difference is that users can post more images and videos in threads at once.
Twitter has a limit of four items per tweet, while Threads allows users to share 10 items in a single post, which is the same limit for Instagram.
Engagement
Twitter and Threads are very similar in terms of engagement.
Both have buttons like comment, repost, quote, and share.
When a user clicks on a tweet or thread, a comment box appears.
Users can reply to the original post or reply directly to other comments, depending on how they want to participate in the conversation.
The Activity tab of the Threads app allows users to see who is following them, who is liking posts, who is replying, and tagging users.
Twitter has a similar tab for notifications, as well as a dedicated Like tab on the profile page for saving posts.
Messaging
The difference in messaging capabilities between Threads and Twitter is simple: Twitter has in-app messaging, but Threads doesn’t.
The Twitter messaging platform allows users to communicate with each other (or with any other user, depending on their privacy settings).
Users can send text, images and GIFs, and even voice messages.
Meanwhile, there is currently no option to send messages in threads.
If someone wants to contact a Threads user, they can try sending a message through their Instagram DM.
