‘All your Threads are belong to us’

Meta Platforms’ competitor to Twitter, called Threads, will be launched on Thursday. Coming at the same time as the latest woes to hit Elon Musk-owned Twitter, it seems like an opportune time for Mark Zuckerberg’s company to be challenging the blue bird. But you might not want to rush off to your nearest app store to download it.

The reason? Meta plans to demand access to a wide range of data on your device, including data about your health and other sensitive information.

A read through the app store entries for Threads – on both Google Play and Apple’s App Store – shows Meta wants to scoop up users’ browsing history, purchases and financial information (including credit scores).

This prompted Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s former CEO and an investor in new social media app Bluesky – which is also challenging Twitter – to tweet a link to Thread’s app privacy settings and state: “All your Threads are belong to us.” This is a reference to “All your base are belong to us,” an amusing internet meme that gained popularity in the early days of the web.

Meta is set to release Threads on Thursday, at 4pm South African time.

The app first appeared – although not in downloadable form – in the Google Play store in Europe on Monday, followed by the Apple App Store later that same day. This swift presence on both major platforms demonstrates Meta’s intention to take advantage of the latest challenges to hit Twitter.

Controversial

Threads, which can be accessed using Instagram login details, comes at a time when Twitter is facing various controversies, including rate limits on users’ feeds. With Threads, Meta wants to position itself as a more inclusive and well-managed alternative, addressing concerns raised by advertisers about the goings-on at Twitter under the leadership of Musk.

Threads is expected to offer Twitter-like features: following other users, creating threads, resharing posts and engaging in “microblogging”.

However, ahead of its official launch, concerns are starting to mount about the access Meta intends demanding of users’ personal data through the app.

All your Threads are belong to us https://t.co/FfrIcUng5O pic.twitter.com/V7xbMOfINt

— jack (@jack) July 4, 2023

The app’s privacy policy, revealed through its listing in both the App Store and Play store, shows that it will collect a wide range of personal information, including sensitive data related to health, fitness, finances, contacts, browsing history, usage patterns, location, search history and identifiers.

This disclosure has drawn fierce criticism.

Meta is reportedly exercising caution in launching Threads in Europe, a region known for its stronger privacy protection laws.  – © 2023 NewsCentral Media

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