Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is set to take on Twitter with the development of a new text-based app that could be launched as soon as next month.
Meta-owned Instagram is said to be currently trialling a platform to rival Twitter, with the South China Morning Post reporting that selected celebrities and influencers have been testing the app for several months.
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Having been given the rather nondescript working moniker ‘P92’, users will reportedly log into the platform using their Instagram profile, with Meta telling tech news site Platformer in March that the firm believes that “there is an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.”
Twitter’s newly-appointed CEO Linda Yaccarino has even weighed on the subject, tweeting “Game on!” when sharing a TechCrunch article detailing leaked information about the new app.
Game on! https://t.co/62JYrLuuCJ
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) May 21, 2023
Industry commentator and UCLA lecturer Lia Haberman shared further information about the fledgling project, adding that “It looks a lot like Twitter”.
Based on a (somewhat blurry) example I got, Meta's new app looks a lot like Twitter.
So, could this take over all the Twitter screenshots we've been seeing on the Feed lately? Maybe.
It’s impossible to predict how audiences will respond but this could be an alternative. pic.twitter.com/xgQa1kUjCl
— Lia Haberman (@liahaberman) May 19, 2023
She notes however that it will be “impossible to predict how audiences will react”, but believes that the new platform could be a feasible alternative.
