Facebook and Instagram have tried to launch new, separate apps focused on a single feature or two several times in the past, like Facebook Poke and Instagram Direct. Now it sounds like Facebook is going to try to launch another app related to Instagram.
Facebook is reportedly working on an app called Threads that acts as a companion app to Instagram. According to The Verge, Threads is meant for sharing your location, speed, and battery life with your "close friends" as well as text, photos, and video. A main feed will let you see messages, updates, and even Instagram Stories from your friends.
The app will offer automatic sharing that, if you opt in, will regularly update your status so that you friends can see your location, speed, and other info. Your real-time location won't necessarily be shared, and instead the app will show something like a person is "on the move". You'll also be able to updated your status manually if you'd like.
You can see illustrated screenshots of the Threads below.
It's said that the Threads app is currently in testing inside Facebook. There's no word on when it might launch, and as with other unannounced products, there's a chance the project could be killed before it even sees the light of day.
We often see apps borrowing ideas from one another, including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, and that appears to be what Facebook is doing with this Threads app. While Instagram already has messaging built-in, this Threads app sounds like it'll place more of a focus on messaging and sharing with your friends, launching you directly into your feed with friends' status updates and enabling automatic sharing, letting friends see what you're up to and potentially starting a chat with you about it.
Facebook and Instagram haven't exactly had a ton of success with their spin-off apps in the past, but Facebook is hoping to change that and steal away some Snapchat users with this Threads app. Does Threads sound like an app you'd use?
