THE launch date for Threads, a new app developed by Meta to rival Twitter, has arrived.

The app is now available in more than 100 countries and can be downloaded and started up relatively easily.

Here’s how to get started with the app, from downloading to customising it to be exactly how you want it.

Download 

Threads is now out for both iOS and Android and downloading the app should be straightforward. Its full name is ‘Threads, an Instagram app’ and it is readily available on both platform’s app stores.

There is some chance that the search might show that the app is not available. If so, that’s probably because it’s not available in your country; the app has not yet been launched in the European Union (EU), apparently because of data protection concerns related to the way that data will be passed between apps.

There hasn’t been any confirmation when people in those countries will be able to get the app.

Sign in and set up

Meta has built Threads to integrate with Instagram, and users can sign in with their existing accounts from that service. Opening up the app should show a user’s existing Instagram account, alongside the option to choose a new one, and clicking that begins the process of getting started.

Moving on, users can modify their profile for Threads, choose a name and add a bio, or transfer their completed profile from Instagram. The app will then ask about privacy settings and ask whether you want to follow accounts from Instagram, before opening up and getting started.

Users may head into the settings to add any extra modification, such as blocking certain words or contacts. The design is pretty basic and should be recognisable to people who have used Instagram and Twitter already since it is more or less a combination of the two.

Finally, users can create posts by clicking on the bar at the bottom, or relate with existing ones by using the buttons beneath a post.