Meta's new social network and direct competitor to Twitter is set to launch on July 6.
As expected, the new platform is called "Threads" and the iOS app is available to pre-order in the App Store. It's a free app, but pre-ordering means the app should download automatically to your device once Meta presses the launch button. The Android version of the app is also listed on the Google Play Store.
The release date was confirmed by Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, in a post on the IG Updates Instagram broadcast channel this morning.
"Heads up we're launching our text app, called Threads, on Thursday. We're hoping to build an open, civil place for conversation. We have a ton more work to do, but I'm very excited to get it into your hands and hear what you think," Mosseri wrote.
Threads is expected to hit the ground running with a large user base because it will tap Instagram's existing account system to allow the personal information of each Instagram user to be automatically transfered over. As Instagram has over 2 billion active monthly users, it could quickly overtake Twitter's 350 million or so users worldwide.
The launch of Threads is a timely one considering the dire state of Twitter right now. Daily tweet views are limited, even for paying users, due to what Elon Musk says are "extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation." TweetDeck users are also struggling to access the service, while at the same time Twitter is rolling out a new version of TweetDeck that will require a Twitter Blue subscription to use.