Threads, a Slack alternative completely unrelated to Instagram, has seen a spike in downloads

The Twitter-Instagram clone, Threads enjoyed a moderately successful first week, sailing past 30 million users in its first 24 hours before passing 100 million sign-ups within five days. And just yesterday, a number from Data.ai showed that Threads it has now reached 150 million downloads.

However, another completely unrelated app has inadvertently stepped into the spotlight behind Instagram’s attempt to capitalize on the Twitter mess.

Thread, a Slack alternative that was quietly launched in 2019 with support from Sequoia Capital, has seen a significant increase in traffic to its website days after the launch of its new name. This is largely due to the fact that Threads (a Slack alternative) has it Threads.com domain namewhereas the Instagram incarnation is less sexy Threads. net (though the app doesn’t have a web interface yet).

It also lets Threads (Slack alternative) have some fun at Instagram’s expense.

However, this confusion led to Threads (an alternative to Slack) seeing a huge spike in downloads in the week immediately after Instagram launched its Threads. Between July 6 and July 12, numbers were provided to Zero2Billions from data. ai shows that The Thread has over 880,000 downloads globally on iOS alone, having had “multiple downloads” prior to this point.

It is also the 52nd most downloaded app globally, and third in the “business” category. Interestingly, the top three markets where it saw the highest App Store ratings were Germany, Spain, and Italy where it averaged as the 10th most downloaded app of the week among the three countries. This is probably because Instagram Threads are not yet available in the European Union, which will cause some confusion.

It’s a similar story Android toowith Threads now featuring over 1 million downloads.

Behind all of this, Threads should have posted a “we are not associated with Instagram” message on its website and List of App Stores.

Threads.com homepage Image Credit: Threads (Slack alternative)

Name check

Scenarios involving multiple companies sharing brand names are not new. There are many companies named Lightyear, including two separate companies UK-based fintech; a Dutch electric car startup; and New York-based telecommunications service procurement services. And there’s actually another startup named ThreadUK based chat based shopping platform

So the Threads (Slack alternative) predicament isn’t a new phenomenon, especially considering that Instagram previously had a companion app called Threads which launched in 2019 and closed two years later.

“Threads is a strong word and an internet native term,” co-founder and CEO of Threads Rousseau Cazi said in a stock statement issued to Zero2Billions. “Using threads — across multiple platforms — is the best way to stay connected with you [.net]work or [.com]pany. Given this, it’s no surprise that Meta chose such a strong label to represent their views on building a town square.”

Notably, Kazi also worked at Facebook (before turning to Meta) in a product management capacity for six years,

“Zuck (Mark Zuckerberg), Adam Mosseri (now CEO of Instagram), and the team are some of the best mentors and minds I have worked with and learned from,” Kazi added.

It should be noted that visitors and downloads seen behind the confusion are unlikely to translate into new business, as disillusioned users will quickly realize this is not what they were looking for. Although the increased profile that startups enjoy can be considered great free publicity.

However, furthermore if, or when, Instagram Threads gain more traction, businesses will likely have to integrate them into their social media strategy. It can also confuse (potential) customers of Threads (a Slack alternative), as companies have to manage two completely separate communication platforms with exactly the same name.

The thread did confirm to Zero2Billions that it owns the trademark to its name, though it declined to answer further questions on the matter, including whether it plans to initiate any action against Instagram or its parent Meta.