Meta may offer a Twitter alternative like Mastodon in the future, accordingly MoneyControl And Curriculum. The social networking giant is said to be in the early stages of developing an app codenamed P92 that would allow users to post text-based updates, and would support Mastodon’s social networking protocol called ActivityPub. Meta confirmed that a decentralized social network was underway at the company and told the publication:
“We are exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there is an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.”
The P92 will carry the Instagram branding and will allow users to register and log in with their Instagram credentials, according to the sources. It will populate the users profile with their Instagram account details if they use their login on the photo sharing app. But based on the product brief MoneyControl opined, “sharing of data from Instagram to the P92 will be minimal, if not non-existent” after the initial registration.
Since the app is decentralized, this means that users can set up their own servers and set their own rules for content moderation. said a source MoneyControl The app will allow users to broadcast their posts to those on other servers, but it remains to be seen if they will be able to follow each other as well. If an app supports ActivityPub, people will most likely expect it to be somewhat interoperable with Mastodon and other decentralized apps that use the protocol.
The Meta has a list of features you definitely want the app to have, including clickable links to posts with previews, shareable images and videos, as well as verification badges. The sources didn’t say if the company would charge for its badges either, but it’s worth noting that Meta launched a paid $12-per-month verification service for Facebook and Instagram in February. Users will have the ability to leave comments and send private messages, but it may not be available in the first version of the app. And at this point, Meta isn’t sure if it will give people the ability to re-share posts like they can on Twitter.
MoneyControl says it’s not entirely clear if the company has actually started building the app, or if it’s still in the planning development period. By the time it launches, there are bound to be many other competitors to contend with, as Twitter competitors have emerged to offer users an alternative after Elon Musk took over last year.
