Instagram has continued to innovate from a photo platform and now it’s going after Twitter.
Meta’s (META) photo and video-led social media app is slated to launch a separate text-based app similar to the concept of Twitter, according to Lia Haberman, a social and influencer marketing professor at UCLA.
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Multiple outlets including Reuters and Bloomberg have confirmed the news as well.
The name for the app is still unknown, but Haberman’s report says the internal codename for the app is called "P92," "Project 92," or "Barcelona."
The app allows for creators to have “conversations” with their audience and peers through a maximum of 500 characters alongside attachable links, photos, and videos. Users are also able to engage with posts through replies, likes, and reposts.
Creators are able to link their Instagram accounts onto the new app and bring along their followers as well as bio, handle, and verification.
The app may launch as soon as late June.
The new move from Meta’s Instagram indicates the company’s continuous moves to centralize all of the other social media apps into its ecosystem. Instagram has already invested significantly over the last few years into challenging TikTok by focusing on its short form video content, Instagram Reels.
On the other hand, Twitter has faced challenges and changes under the new ownership of Elon Musk, notably in its regulation of misinformation and its verification system. Musk appointed Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s new CEO last week and it remains to be seen what direction the company will go moving forward under her leadership.
