{"id":158421,"date":"2019-08-27T18:25:01","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T10:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1801768\/"},"modified":"2019-08-27T18:25:01","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T10:25:01","slug":"report-facebook-developing-threads-app-for-close-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/08\/27\/report-facebook-developing-threads-app-for-close-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Facebook Developing \u2018Threads\u2019 App For Close Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(via Sarah Palmer\/Instagram)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Facebook is reportedly developing a new messaging app aimed at promoting constant sharing between “close friends.”<\/span><\/p>\n

A companion to Instagram, Threads invites users to share text, photo, and video messages with friends\u2014as well as slightly more bizarre details like location, phone speed, and battery life.<\/span><\/p>\n

The app, according to The Verge<\/a>, is currently being tested internally at Facebook.<\/span><\/p>\n

This comes just three months after Instagram ceased work on its standalone direct messaging app<\/a>, introduced in December 2017 with little enthusiasm from platform mainstays.<\/span><\/p>\n

In May, executives claimed beta testers were frustrated by having to switch between two applications to compose and read messages, The Verge reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

The social network, however, remained keen on building unique ways for people to communicate. Enter Threads.<\/span><\/p>\n

A blatant Snapchat replica, the app\u2014based on screenshots seen by The Verge\u2014is designed to encourage automatic sharing between users and their “close friends” (as dictated by a new Instagram feature).<\/span><\/p>\n

The inner-circle function<\/a>, currently limited to Stories, lets users share posts only with a curated list of people; a green ring (instead of the standard pink-purple gradient) suggests a “close friend” has shared something privately with you.<\/span><\/p>\n

That concept, it seems, is being applied to Threads, where folks can opt in for regular status updates, or choose to manually brief buddies on their own time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Messages from mates appear in a central feed, with a green dot indicating who is currently active, The Verge explained. Recent stories can be viewed from inside Threads, as well; the app also comes with a camera for capturing photos and videos.<\/span><\/p>\n

It remains unclear, though, when (or even if) Threads might launch.<\/span><\/p>\n

But if Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s March comments on private-messaging-as-the-future-of-the-firm are anything to go by, you can expect a new texting service sooner rather than later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook declined to comment on the reports; Instagram did not immediately responded to Geek’s request.<\/span><\/p>\n

More on Geek.com:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n