Threads Launches in the European Union
Threads is now available to users in the European Union, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced. The move comes five months after the social media network launched in most markets around the world, but remained unavailable to EU-based users due to regulatory hurdles.
"Today we're opening Threads to more countries in Europe," wrote Zuckerberg in a post on the platform. "Welcome everyone." In addition to creating a Threads profile for posting, users in the EU can also simply browse Threads without having an Instagram account, an option likely introduced to comply with legislation surrounding online services.
The company's delay in launching the service in EU countries is believed to have been caused by the EU's Digital Markets Act, or DMA, which is intended to make the tech sector more open and balance competition.
When Meta launched Threads in July, users signed up through their Instagram account, which allowed Threads to gain millions of users. The integration between the two platforms wasn't universally welcomed though, and led to complaints that it was impossible to delete your Threads profile without also deleting your Instagram account.
Then in November, Meta loosened the integration by rolling out a way to delete or deactivate a Threads profile separately while leaving the associated Instagram account intact.
The expansion into a market of 448 million people should see Threads' user numbers get a decent boost. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on a company earnings call in October that Threads now has "just under" 100 million monthly users. Since its launch earlier this year it has gained a web app, an ability to search for posts, and a post editing feature.
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Top Rated Comments
I am not a product.
There is no privacy on threads, none at all.
[HEADING=3]Data Linked to You (as listed in Apple's App Store)[/HEADING]
Third-Party Advertising:
* Purchases (Purchase History)
* Financial Info (Other Financial Info)
* Location (Precise Location, Coarse Location)
* Contact Info (Physical Address, Email Address, Name, Phone Number, Other User Contact Info)
* Contacts
* User Content (Photos or Videos, Gameplay Content, Other User Content)
* Search History
* Browsing History
* Identifiers (User ID, Device ID)
* Usage Data (Product Interaction, Advertising Data, Other Usage Data)
* Diagnostics (Crash Data, Performance Data, Other Diagnostic Data)
* Other Data
Developer's Advertising or Marketing:
* Purchases (Purchase History)
* Financial Info (Other Financial Info)
* Location (Precise Location, Coarse Location)
* Contact Info (Physical Address, Email Address, Name, Phone Number, Other User Contact Info)
* Contacts
* User Content ( Photos or Videos, Gameplay Content, Other User Content)
* Search History
* Browsing History
* Identifiers (User ID, Device ID)
* Usage Data (Product Interaction, Advertising Data, Other Usage Data)
* Diagnostics (Crash Data, Performance Data, Other Diagnostic Data)
* Other Data
Analytics:
* Health & Fitness (Health, Fitness)
* Purchases (Purchase History, Financial Info, Payment Info, Other Financial Info)
* Location (Precise Location, Coarse Location)
* Contact Info (Physical Address, Email Address, Name, Phone Number, Other User Contact Info)
* Contacts
* User Content (Photos or Videos, Audio Data, Gameplay Content, Customer Support, Other User Content)
* Search History
* Browsing History
* Identifiers (User ID, Device ID)
* Usage Data (Product Interaction, Advertising Data, Other Usage Data)
* Sensitive Info
* Diagnostics (Crash Data, Performance Data, Other Diagnostic Data)
* Other Data
Product Personalization:
* Purchases (Purchase History)
* Financial Info (Other Financial Info)
* Location (Precise Location, Coarse Location)
* Contact Info (Physical Address, Email Address, Name, Phone Number, Other User Contact Info)
* Contacts
* User Content (Photos or Videos, Gameplay Content, Other User Content)
* Search History
* Browsing History
* Identifiers (User ID, Device ID)
* Usage Data (Product Interaction, Advertising Data, Other Usage Data)
* Sensitive Info
* Diagnostics (Crash Data, Performance Data, Other Diagnostic Data)
* Other Data
App Functionality:
* Health & Fitness (Health, Fitness)
* Purchases (Purchase History)
* Financial Info (Payment Info, Credit Info, Other Financial Info)
* Location (Precise Location, Coarse Location)
* Contact Info (Physical Address, Email Address, Name, Phone Number, Other User Contact Info)
* Contacts
* User Content (Emails or Text Messages, Photos or Videos, Audio Data, Gameplay Content, Customer Support, Other User Content)
* Search History
* Browsing History
* Identifiers (User ID, Device ID)
* Usage Data (Product Interaction, Advertising Data, Other Usage Data)
* Sensitive Info
* Diagnostics (Crash Data, Performance Data, Other Diagnostic Data)
* Other Data
Other Purposes:
* Purchases (Purchase History)
* Financial Info (Other Financial Info)
* Location (Precise Location, Coarse Location)
* Contact Info (Physical Address, Email Address, Name, Phone Number, Other User Contact Info)
* Contacts
* User Content (Photos or Videos, Gameplay Content, Customer Support, Other User Content)
* Search History
* Browsing History
* Identifiers (User ID, Device ID)
* Usage Data (Product Interaction, Advertising Data, Other Usage Data)
* Diagnostics (Crash Data, Performance Data, Other Diagnostic Data)
* Other Data
Good to see I’ll soon be able to communicate with them all on Mastodon, though.