Instagram's new messaging app is for 'close friends' only

Instagram has a new messaging app that's all about "close friends." It's called Threads, and it's launching now on iOS and Android. 

As you might expect, the "camera-first messaging app," whose existence was first reported back in August, is... a lot like Snapchat. It opens on the camera and has an interface that will be mostly familiar to Snapchat users, though there are a few big differences. 

First, the entire app is focused on your "close friends" list. Threads users can only exchange messages if they've both aded each other to their close friends list on Instagram. (If only one person has someone as a close friend, the message will instead be routed to their Instagram Direct inbox rather than the Threads app.)  Read more...