Meta launches Threads early as it looks to take on Twitter

Meta's Threads app debuted a day earlier than expected, offering billions of users with an alternative to Twitter amid growing frustration with the Elon Musk-owned social media service. 

Threads had been slated to be released at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on July 6, but the company on Wednesday pushed forward its countdown clock to 7 p.m. Eastern time on July 5. 

Threads, which looks similar to Twitter, lets users post messages, reply to other users, and like or repost messages. The service also lets users of Meta-owned Instagram follow the same accounts on Threads, which could help people add followers.