Everything we know about Instagram’s Twitter clone, due this summer

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while the future remains uncertain for Twitter, Meta is jumping in to build the next great microblogging platform. This new Meta app is expected to launch this summer, according to an email shared with a select group of creators and seen by TechCrunch.

This text-based app will stand alone, but will be partly integrated with Instagram. Users will keep their Instagram account and verification, and all their followers will receive a notification to follow them on the platform to be named. Meta’s text-based platform will be decentralized and interoperable with Mastodon, which is based on the ActivityPub protocol.

Meta wants to bring in high-profile public figures for early access, such as athletes, actors, producers, showrunners, and comedians. In his note to these creators, Meta admitted that Mastodon, Bluesky and other apps have had a head start in the race to build the next Twitter. But the company said it has the advantage of accessing billions of users through its family of apps, which includes Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger.

This new decentralized application is codenamed P92 or Barcelona, ​​as first reported by money control. Meta has remained silent on these developments, but said in a statement to Money Control: “We are exploring an independent decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there is an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates on their interests.”

According to Lia Haberman, author of ICYMI social media newsletter, the app will use the same community guidelines as Instagram. Similarly, users will be able to log in with their Instagram credentials, Instagram blocks and hidden words will carry over, and some security features will be built right out of the box, such as two-factor authentication and spam reporting. Haberman’s sources also told him that text posts will be up to 500 characters long, and users can also upload photos, links and videos up to five minutes long. Like Twitter and other competing apps, there will be a feed where you can like, reply to, or repost content.

social media consultant matthew navarra received this same information, which he had shared in a tweet posted earlier this month.

Meta declined TechCrunch’s request for further comment, but did not dispute the accuracy of the leaked information.

The market is ripe for new Twitter alternatives, though after migrating to a multitude of platforms, some users may be a bit weary at the prospect of setting up yet another new account. Like any company, when Meta releases new apps and experiences, they don’t always take off. In recent years, it has put an end to products such as the anonymous teen app tbh, Super cameo application, Neighborhoods cloned next door, Tuned couples app, student-focused social network Campus, sparked video dating service and further.