New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino is acknowledging the impending competition coming her way this summer as Instagram works on a text-based app.
Yaccarino shared her reaction on the social media platform retweet a story talking about the Twitter clone that is already being tested out.
“Game on!” she tweeted.
Instagram’s Twitter clone comes as Yaccarino takes the reigns of the company owned by Elon Musk. Twitter has become unstable since Musk took over with many advertisers pausing their spending or fleeing the app altogether. Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal advertising executive, will be tasked to welcome advertisers back following months of uncertainty with the platform.
Twitter users that feel uncomfortable on the app have been looking for alternatives to the platform finding refuge in similar apps like Mastodon, Hive and Bluesky, which has Twitter founder Jack Dorsey on its board of directors.
Instagram is known to take inspiration from social media competitors like Reels, based on the popularity of TikTok and Stories based on Snapchat. Their new stand-alone app will mimic Twitter’s capabilities.
Meta has been testing out the app with high-profile influencers like actors and athletes who have had early access. The app will be tied to Instagram with usernames and verifications being carried over to the new platform. Although the new decentralized app doesn’t have an official name, its codename is reportedly P92 or Barcelona, according to MoneyControl.
“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,” a spokesperson for Meta said in a statement to the publication.
