Twitter seems to be growing more archaic by the second, making space for a similar looking competitor, Threads, to rise.
The most obvious difference between the two apps is that for Threads, you can sign up using your Instagram account. You also have the option to manually follow the same accounts you follow on Instagram if they’ve also created a Threads account. This offers some continuity in retaining your followers from Instagram to Threads.
When it comes to the look and feel of the apps, Threads feels slightly less cluttered. Meta opted out of including the number of likes, reposts, and views at the bottom of every post, presenting users with a sleeker version of Twitter without the need to quantify everything.
Image quality is where Twitter overtakes Threads. Twitter lets users load and view images in 4K. Threads doesn’t offer such an option, and the image and video quality is more or less the same as Instagram.
If viewing images in 4K is important to you, then you can choose to keep Twitter as an occasional source of high-quality wallpapers and premium photo browsing.
According to the privacy policy of Threads, the app can access your location, cameras, photos, IP information, and device signals that include Wi-Fi access points. Meta has a poor history of protecting private data. Last May, Meta was fined by the EU for violating EU privacy laws, meaning Threads’ user data may not be in the safest hands.
Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter, the site has seen rapid changes that concern many users—such as the loss of two executives overlooking data privacy and two-factor authentication being hidden under Twitter’s premium subscription service.
On other platforms, like Instagram and Threads, users don’t need to pay for two-factor authentication. Because Twitter hid this essential security feature behind a paywall, Twitter users who haven’t opted into Twitter Blue are more vulnerable to cybercriminals.
There was a time when Twitter offered the possibility of having meaningful conversations and generating greater empathy and understanding amongst users. This time has come to an end, and Twitter has since become a breeding ground for division and toxicity.
While Facebook and Instagram are no better, with the emergence of Threads comes the possibility for users to have a break from the chaos that has become all too prominent on Twitter.
These reasons make me a firm believer that Threads is the better app compared to Twitter.
Tags
Elon Musk, Meta, Threads, Twitter
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