ISLAMABAD: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is developing a text-based social network app.
It could compete with both Twitter and Mastodon, its decentralized competitor. A spokesperson for Meta told BBC, “we’re looking into creating a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there is an opportunity for a separate area where creators and public figures can communicate timely updates about their interests, according to him. A Twitter-like app would allow Meta to capitalize on the current state of chaos at Elon Musk’s company, where cost-cutting has been widespread.
Since Musk’s takeover of the platform late last year, Twitter has struggled to retain its advertising base. Companies have reduced spending in response to Twitter’s decision to restore suspended accounts and launch a paid account verification service, which resulted in scammers impersonating businesses.
Meta app will be built similar to Mastodon
Money Control reports that the new app, codenamed P92, will allow users to log in using their existing Instagram credentials. Meta’s app will be built on a similar framework to Mastodon, a Twitter-like service that debuted in 2016. The new app would be decentralized, meaning it could not be bought or sold by a single entity.
Meta’s plans come at a time when its most popular platform, Facebook, is struggling to attract a younger audience. It has also made significant investments in the Metaverse, a virtual world in which users interact and work, which has yet to materialize. Instagram, its video-sharing app, is also facing stiff competition as content creators and popular influencers abandon the platform in favor of TikTok. It was unclear when Meta would make the new app available.
