Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that 10 million users signed up for its Threads app in its first seven hours, the BBC reports. Meta is pitching Threads as an alternative to Twitter. Users can post updates of up to 500 characters.

When asked on Threads whether the app will be "bigger than Twitter", Zuckerberg said: "It'll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it.
"Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it. Hopefully we will."

Threads is available to download in over 100 countries including the UK, but not yet in the EU, due to regulatory concerns. In the future, Meta has said users will be able to interact via Threads with people on other social media platforms.

Despite Threads being a standalone app, users log in using an Instagram account. Their Instagram username carries over, but there is an option to customize their profile specifically for Threads.

Users will also be able to choose to follow the same accounts they do on Instagram. The app allows users to be private on Instagram, but public on Threads.