Ever since Elon Musk bought Twitter, there’s been a lot of chatter on the platform about one specific topic: where to go when Twitter dies. That’s primarily due to his decision to fire most of the staff, an ongoing theme of his rule. The site has also experienced a host of technical issues lately. This has led people to consider sites like Post or Mastodon, which are mere shadows of Twitter’s size. Now Meta might be stepping into the fray with its own solution. It’s confirmed it’s working on a standalone app to allow text-based updates among friends and followers.

A Meta-sized company stepping into this space is indeed big news. A spokesperson told Platformer in an email, “We’re exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.” The site reports that the project, P92, is run by the current Instagram head, Adam Mosseri. The app will reportedly be Instagram branded and use that platform’s credentials to log in.

What will differentiate this service from Twitter, as well as Meta’s existing services, is its decentralized nature. In that scenario, the users can make their own servers and set moderation rules, like how Reddit allows anyone to create their own subreddit. Everyone must still follow baseline rules, but they can be tweaked for individual topics according to the moderators’ preferences. According to Moneycontrol, Meta wants to use ActivityPub for its app, a decentralized social networking protocol that Mastodon is currently using.

Twitter is funding a small independent team of up to five open source architects, engineers, and designers to develop an open and decentralized standard for social media. The goal is for Twitter to ultimately be a client of this standard. 🧵

— jack (@jack) December 11, 2019

Former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, called for a decentralized version of Twitter in 2019 (above). His prime motivator was that centralized control over abuse and misinformation couldn’t scale without requiring too many moderators. Also, since leaving Twitter, he has begun working on his own “decentralized Twitter,” which just came out a week ago. His new App, Bluesky, is now available in beta form but is invite-only.

As far as Meta’s plans go, it’s unclear if it’s just an idea or if there’s code being written. However, unbeknownst to us, in December, Instagram rolled out a feature called Notes. According to Instagram, it is “a new way to share your thoughts using just text and emojis.” It’s thought that this may be fleshed out into the Twitter competitor.

When (or if) the app launches, users can transfer all their bio data from Instagram and share data between accounts. Over time there will be a “fork” where the two apps disconnect from each other. However, this could allow Meta to launch with a privacy policy and moderation teams already in place. Instagram also operates globally, making it a more attractive alternative to Twitter than competitors like Mastodon.

Now read:

• Musk Completes Twitter Takeover, Promises It Won’t Become a ‘Hellscape’
• Twitter’s Former Head of Security Turns Whistleblower
• Twitter Bans Third-Party Apps Without Warning

keywords: ExtremeTechExtremeTech , Tech