Threads: Instagram owner launches Twitter-like app

Instagram-owner Meta has launched its Threads app, which experts say could attract Twitter users unhappy with recent changes to the platform.

The app is now available to download in over 100 countries including the UK, but not yet in the European Union because of regulatory concerns.

Users can create posts of up to 500 characters, and many features are similar to those found on Twitter.

But rivals have criticised the amount of data it may collect.

Meta calls the new app an "initial version", with extra features planned including the ability to interact with people on some other social media apps like Mastodon.

"Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text," the firm says.