Meta’s Threads is finally launching in Europe later this week

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Meta launched Threads, its X/Twitter rival back in July, but the app was not available all over the globe. Some parts of Europe are yet to taste Zuckerberg’s alternative to Twitter, which is reportedly about to change this week. 

According to The Verge, Threads has added a countdown timer to its website, only visible in those specific European markets where the platform is currently unavailable, i.e., the European Union (EU).

At the time of writing, the timer shows only three days to go, which means the platform is all set to launch in the EU on December 14, a Thursday. 

This is, without a doubt, a long-awaited expansion for Threads, which has received some feature updates already. The platform skipped the EU at launch, likely due to regulatory concerns about data sharing.

Meanwhile, a Threads user noted that Instagram users in the EU can search for “ticket” in the Instagram app to reveal a digital invite to Threads and a launch time. 

Threads also adds support for “Tags”

In addition, Threads has also started rolling out support for “Tags,” a simplified version of hashtags. The announcement came through a post on December 7.

The new “Tags’ feature is somewhat similar to hashtags, but there are key differences. 

Tags do group content together, but you can only one tag/topic on a post. According to Meta, the new Tags function “makes it easier for others who care about that topic to find and read your post.”

Another key difference is how “tags” appear in posts. You can add Tags by typing the“#” symbol in line with the text, but they don’t appear with the symbol in the published post.

Instead, they appear in blue text in the post, kind of similar to the conventional hyperlink. You can also add a tag by tapping the “#” symbol on the new post UI.

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Threads is rolling out its new “Edit” button (and for free!)
• X (Twitter) starts rolling out voice and video-calling feature on iOS
• Elon Musk backtracks on Twitter/X URL headline feature
• The PlayStation 5 is breaking up with Twitter