Threads Is Live, as Meta Launches Its Twitter Rival Early

"Hello world" posts are flooding into the timeline of the brand new text-based social network.

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As part of the Meta family of apps—which includes Facebook and WhatsApp, in addition to Instagram—Threads has a very large appetite for user data. The list of information Threads can access, as disclosed in both Apple and Google's app stores, includes everything from contact and location information to web browsing and search activity—as well as other "sensitive" information.

Because the EU has much more strict privacy laws, Threads is not launching in the region.

For now, Mark Zuckerberg is also joining the revelry.

"The vision for Threads is to create an open and friendly public space for conversation," he explained, between replying to a handful of posts by other verified accounts. "We hope to take what Instagram does best and create a new experience around text, ideas, and discussing what's on your mind."

"Glad you're all here on day one," he added. "Let's build something great together!"