Apps tend to spawn out of midair and the latest one has caused conversations and questions on social media. Threads, Meta’s version of Twitter, launched on July 6 and users are getting used to the new platform.
The new app takes on a text-based conversation format. Think of it as a Twitter without the Elon Musk effect. Ever since Musk bought Twitter, the app has gone through changes, angering long-time users. The most recent change is limiting the number of tweets users can read per day. With Twitter becoming less user-friendly, Gen Z is looking outward for platforms that can capture the authentic conversation that Twitter used to provoke. Enter: Threads.
Gen Z has some questions about the Twitter lookalike before making the transition to Threads, with a major one being: “Can you make multiple accounts on Threads?” Here is what we know about the affordances of the new platform.
Users are optimistic that Threads will have the multiple account feature.
Instagram is owned by Meta. So, when you make a Threads account, you are linking it to your Instagram account. In the age of photo dump Instagrams and finstas, users have found ways to make multiple accounts, which can mean the same for Threads.
Though the app just launched, it appears to be user-friendly like its predecessors. Instagram and Facebook allow you to toggle between accounts and it seems that Threads will use that same function… eventually. That function has yet to be set up.
For now, you can set up multiple accounts, but to access them you will have to log out of your current account and return to the login screen. Once you have logged into your multiple Instagram accounts on Threads, you will be able to switch between accounts on the login screen. At least, that is what users are hoping for.
Some think there might be limitations to making multiple accounts.
If you’re hoping to make a separate Threads account that doesn’t interfere with your others, you might be out of luck. Though you can make separate accounts with different emails or even a different phone, there’s a chance your accounts may still overlap.
When you sign up for Threads, it automatically connects to your Instagram account, which means bringing up your whole following list as suggested accounts. Users believe that if you access your different accounts on the same Wi-Fi, then the accounts may have cross-follows due to the amount of personal data that Threads has access to when you join the app. Her Campus reached out to Meta for clarification on whether accounts created on the same Wi-Fi are connected at all, but did not hear back by the time of publication. But if you are hoping to escape the hot takes of your high school archnemesis (or hide your own hot takes from the family members that follow you on Instagram), it might take some time.
Since the app is so new, the features will be tweaked and continue to be rolled out. The ultimate question is: Is Threads the new Gen Z Twitter? Only time will tell.