Threads, Meta’s Twitter rival, is ready to take off on July 6 –

Meta is all set to launch “Threads,” its answer to Twitter’s dwindling fame. The app is now available for pre-order on the iOS App Store, with a July 6 release date mentioned on its app page. A webpage for the Instagram-linked service is also live now, with a launch countdown and a QR code that redirects to the app’s iOS and Android download links. Unfortunately, you can only pre-download the iOS version right now, as the Android link isn’t up yet.

Screenshots of the app on the App Store show that Threads will let you automatically follow the same accounts you follow on Instagram. Although, you will also have an option to manually select the Thread accounts you want to follow. The interface itself is very similar to Instagram’s feed — just replace the photos with text. Of course, you get the added ability to have threaded conversations under posts since the idea is to have the experience feel as close to Twitter as possible.

It seems users will also be able to choose who can reply to their posts, ranging from anyone on the Threads platform to the profiles they follow or just users mentioned in the post.

“Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow,” reads the app’s description.

It was previously revealed that Threads could integrate with the decentralized ActivityPub protocol, possibly allowing users to transfer their accounts and followers to other platforms such as Mastodon.

Meta is striking hard at Twitter just when the iron is sizzling hot. The Musk-operated outfit has made several unpopular changes over the past few months, including the verification process overhaul and the recently imposed limit on the number of tweets users can read on the platform. Will Threads be able to capitalize on the growing user resentment towards Twitter? We’ll have to wait and watch.