Topline
Meta on Friday said it is working on a new social media platform for sharing “text updates” reportedly designed to compete directly with Twitter, which has been hit by various operational issues and controversies since its takeover by billionaire Elon Musk.
Key Facts
Indian business news outlet Moneycontrol first reported the development, noting that Meta’s Twitter competitor will be an offshoot of Instagram that can be accessed using the same login credentials.
The development was confirmed by Platformer, who received a statement from the Facebook parent saying the company was “exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates”.
The app, reportedly codenamed P92, will be compatible with ActivityPub—the decentralized protocol used by the open-source Twitter alternative, Mastodon.
Being a decentralized platform means P92’s users will be able to join or create separate servers although it will include a feature that allows people to “broadcast posts to people on other servers,” the Moneycontrol report added, citing an unnamed source.
P92’s feature set is expected to be very similar to Twitter at launch, except for commenting on posts and messages, which will reportedly be added later.
The report suggests P92 will leverage existing Instagram data—like names, profile photos, followers, etc.—both for users who sign up for the decentralized platform and those who don’t.
Crucial Quote
In its statement, Meta said: “We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.”