Instagram’s Twitter clone Threads loved a reasonably fruitful first week in existence, crusing previous 30 million customers within the first 24 hours earlier than passing 100 million signups inside 5 days. And simply yesterday, numbers from Knowledge.ai indicated that Threads has now hit 150 million downloads.

Nevertheless, one other fully unrelated app has been inadvertently thrust into the highlight off the again of Instagram’s try to capitalize on the Twitter mess.

Threads, a Slack various that launched out stealth again in 2019 with backing from Sequoia Capital, has seen a big improve in site visitors to its web site within the days following its new namesake’s launch. That is largely owing to the truth that Threads (the Slack various) owns the Threads.com area identify, whereas Instagram’s incarnation is on the much less attractive Threads.web (although the app doesn’t have an internet interface as of but).

This additionally led Threads (the Slack various) to have a bit of enjoyable at Instagram’s expense.

At any price, this confusion led Threads (the Slack various) to see a serious spike in downloads within the week instantly after Instagram launched its Threads. Between July 6 and July 12, figures supplied to TechCrunch from Knowledge.ai point out that Threads had greater than 880,000 downloads globally on iOS alone, having had “few downloads” prior thus far.

It was additionally the 52nd most downloaded app globally general, and third within the “enterprise” class. Apparently, the highest three markets the place it noticed its highest App Retailer rankings have been Germany, Spain, and Italy the place it averaged because the tenth most downloaded app that week between the three international locations. This was in all probability as a result of Instagram’s Threads isn’t but out there within the European Union, which could have contributed to the confusion.

It’s an analogous story on Android too, with Threads now displaying greater than 1 million downloads.

Off the again of all this, Threads has needed to plaster “we’re not related to Instagram” messages on its web site and App Retailer itemizing.

Threads.com homepage Picture Credit: Threads (the Slack various)

Identify-check

Situations involving a number of firms sharing model names is nothing new. There are numerous firms referred to as Lightyear, together with two separate U.Okay.-based fintechs; a Dutch electrical automotive startup; and a New York-based telecom service procurement service. And there’s, the truth is, one other startup referred to as Threads, a chat-based purchasing platform based mostly out of the U.Okay. 

So Threads’ (the Slack various) predicament is hardly a brand new phenomenon, notably when you think about that Instagram beforehand had a companion app referred to as Threads which it launched in 2019 and shuttered two years later.

“Threads is a strong phrase and an web native time period,” Threads co-founder and CEO Rousseau Kazi mentioned in a inventory assertion issued to TechCrunch. “Utilizing threads — on varied platforms — is the easiest way to remain linked together with your [.net]work or [.com]pany. Given this, it comes as no shock that Meta selected a strong label to characterize their take at constructing the city sq..”

Notably, Kazi additionally labored at Fb (earlier than it morphed into Meta) in a product administration capability for six years,

“Zuck (Mark Zuckerberg), Adam Mosseri (now Instagram CEO), and the workforce are simply among the greatest mentors and minds I’ve started working with and study from,” Kazi added.

It’s price noting that the guests and downloads it has seen off the again of the confusion will unlikely have translated into new enterprise, as disillusioned customers could have shortly realized that this was not what they have been searching for. Although the profile enhance the startup has loved might be construed as nice free publicity.

Nevertheless, additional down the road if, or when, Instagram’s Threads positive factors extra traction, companies will possible should combine it into their social media technique. This might additionally get complicated for (would-be) prospects of Threads (the Slack various), as firms must handle two fully separate communication platforms with the very same identify.

Threads did verify to TechCrunch that it owns the trademark for its identify, although it declined to reply any additional questions on the matter, together with whether or not it plans to provoke any motion towards Instagram or its mum or dad Meta.