Instagram is launching a new “intimate” app, and we’re intrigued
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- Hollie Richardson
- Published
Instagram is developing an app which will let you share your status, location and battery life with close friends.
We live in a constantly connected digital world, thanks to smartphones, social media apps, email and every other online platform out there. WhatsApp and Snapchat are two of the most popular apps that keep us in touch with our pals, but Facebook – which now owns both Instagram – now wants to take things one step further with its new idea.
According to The Verge, Facebook is working on a new messaging app called Threads which will be linked to the Instagram platform. The design will invite users to keep close friends and family updated by automatically sharing their location, battery life, texts, photos and video recordings. It will also show a user’s speed when they are “on the move” somewhere.
It all sounds a bit 1984, but this is the world we seem to have accepted living in today.
The news comes after Instagram recently dropped work on a standalone messaging app called Direct, which they had been working on since 2017. Executives said development of the app was ceased as testers were frustrated about having to switch between Instagram and Direct when they wanted to send a message. So it sounds like Threads could be the solution to their problems.
So, how will Thread actually work? The Verge, which has access to screenshots of the app, report that it will exist inside Instagram. Users will receive messages, stories, photos and videos from people in their “close friends” list in a central feed. A green dot will highlight who is active on the app.
It’s not yet known when Threads will launch, as it it still being tested. But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this year that that he sees private messaging as the future of the company.
What will they come up with next?
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