Instagram has launched Threads, the social network’s long-awaited answer to Elon Musk’s Twitter. Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Instagram’s parent company Meta, said that 10m users had signed up in the first seven hours.

For those familiar with Twitter and its short, text-based posts, Threads will seem instantly familiar. The app displays a feed of posts – called threads – of celebrities, influencers, public figures and ordinary users sharing their thoughts and updates with the world. 

Users can repost (rethread?) other people in the same way they can retweet them, or comment or favourite them, and follow other users.

Users can log in with their Instagram account – meaning Threads already has more than 2bn accounts ready to go. The app will ask if you want to follow the same accounts you do on Instagram – an interesting choice, since many use Instagram as a social network for friends and Twitter as a way to follow public figures and track news.