Here is what we know about it so far:
- It will most likely be called Threads.
- It is not known what domain it will use for usernames.
- In mockup screenshots, a user replies to someone using an
@mastodon.socialhandle, it’s very likely that they will federate. - It will be side app of Instagram. It’s not clear how much of the new network will be baked into the main app.
- Your username and verification status will carry over, so early adopters won’t have an advantage for their preferred username.
- Your followers will not carry over but there will be an easy way to pick and follow people on your Instagram list.
Personal observations:
- Many people that I talked to about it think that this will be Meta’s attempt at an “EEE”.
- Some Mastodon instance admins that I chatted about it say that Meta will “likely attempt to pull their user data”, and they “will defederate immediately”.
I don’t see this as a bad thing. I hate Facebook with a passion, but if it means more money going into UX development of federated services, I’m all for it. To me that’s the biggest problem with them right now.
The concerns about data use are worth noting, but I don’t think are to be worried about. They can get the data anyway, and what we really need is better data privacy laws in place in general.