If all the addictive pitfalls of Instagram weren’t enough already, a companion app called Threads is in development to allow for even more sharing. The Verge reports that the app will work in tandem with Instagram and allow new ways for you to share with your Instagram close friends list.
While Instagram is immensely popular it sometimes lacks the intimacy of apps like Snapchat that allow you to communicate quickly and directly with your closest pals. If Instagram Stories tried to kill Snapchat, then Threads is aiming to chip away again at Snapchat’s remaining attractiveness.
A standalone app to go with Instagram might sound like a fragmented idea but it could work out for Facebook. If successful it’d be the fourth major mobile app keeping people on its services and in front of ads.
The Verge said it had reviewed screenshots of Threads and confirms it is “designed to promote constant, automatic sharing between users and the people on their “close friends” list on Instagram.” While we can’t think of many things more suffocating than oversharing even more than Instagram already allows for, we understand we are in a minority particularly when compared to younger generations currently hooked on Snapchat.
Image: Alex Castro / The Verge
You will be able to opt-in to automatic sharing, where the app will give your friends updates about your location. There will be a feed where these updates, as well as manual updates, will be seen alongside messages. You’ll also be able to view Instagram Stories from inside Threads.
With no release date, this might stay an internal experiment, but it shows that Facebook is still thinking of new ways to redress its services to hook you all over again.
Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.