Instagram is “secretly testing” a text-based app to compete with Twitter, and the debut may happen as soon as next month, Bloomberg reported.
The new platform has reportedly already been available to select celebrities and creators for months and is a separate app from Instagram, but there will be an option to link accounts.
Lia Haberman, an adjunct professor at UCLA in social and influencer marketing, tweeted a screenshot of the new platform, per Bloomberg.
“It’s impossible to predict how audiences will respond but this could be an alternative,” she wrote.
Based on a (somewhat blurry) example I got, Meta’s new app looks a lot like Twitter.
So, could this take over all the Twitter screenshots we’ve been seeing on the Feed lately? Maybe.
It’s impossible to predict how audiences will respond but this could be an alternative. pic.twitter.com/xgQa1kUjCl
— Lia Haberman (@liahaberman) May 19, 2023
Since Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, many users have grown frustrated with the changes — from reinstating controversial accounts to the adoption of Twitter Blue.
Data shows that even the most dedicated tweeters are losing interest. According to a survey from Pew Research Center, activity for Twitter’s “most active” users declined by 25% since Musk’s acquisition of the platform.
Related: ‘It’s a Long Story’: Elon Musk Publicly Apologizes to Disabled Employee After Squabble on Twitter
Entrepreneur has reached out to Meta, the owner of Instagram, for comment.