Instagram working on Twitter rival app: Report

The Meta-owned Instagram is working on a text-based platform to rival Twitter that might be revealed in June, according to a report

File photo of the Instagram logo on a laptop | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Meta-owned Instagram is working on a text-based platform that could rival Twitter and be revealed as early as June, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Some influencers and content creators have been able to try and test out Meta’s new app, the report said.

Leaked images showed samples of a user interface for “Instagram’s new text-based app for conversations,” reported marketing professor Lia Haberman.

Based on a (somewhat blurry) example I got, Meta's new app looks a lot like Twitter.

So, could this take over all the Twitter screenshots we've been seeing on the Feed lately? Maybe.

It's impossible to predict how audiences will respond but this could be an alternative. pic.twitter.com/xgQa1kUjCl

— Lia Haberman (@liahaberman) May 19, 2023

The app will be decentralised and built over Instagram but should let users interact with other decentralised social media platforms like Mastodon, said Haberman.

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Meta and Instagram are yet to formally confirm or deny the reports.

Considering Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, other social media platform firms have started developing Twitter alternatives.

Apart from Mastodon, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s brainchild Bluesky is another such platform that is inviting selected users to join.