Meta on Friday said it is exploring a standalone decentralised social network for sharing text updates, amid reports that the company was planning an app to compete with Twitter.
Meta said it believes there is an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.
The comment came after a report that Meta -- the parent firm of Facebook and Instagram -- is planning to launch a Twitter rival and that the app will be based on a decentralised framework like Mastodon, another Twitter-like service.
"We're exploring a standalone decentralised 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 Meta spokesperson said.
The US social media giant, however, did not give exact details or the timeframe for the rollout of the new app.
Interestingly, Meta's latest move comes at a time when Twitter has been in the spotlight for controversial reasons ranging from technical glitches to layoffs.
The micro-blogging platform initiated a massive cost-cutting drive globally, after billionaire Elon Musk's $44 billion-takeover of Twitter last year.
In fact, Twitter downsized from more than 7,000 people to 2,300 active employees across the globe — the mass layoffs began with the firing of CEO Parag Agrawal as well as the CFO and many other high-ranking leaders last year.
Published 10 March 2023, 17:13 IST