Meta will work on a decentralized competitor to Twitter

Meta is reportedly working on a decentralized competitor to Twitter. This application now responds to the codename P92.

Meta may offer an alternative to Twitter similar to Mastodon in the more or less near future. This is reported by MoneyControl and Platformer. The social networking giant will indeed be working on the first phase of developing an app that meets the P92 codename. This will allow users to post text messages and will be compatible with Mastodon’s social networking protocol, ActivityPub.

Meta will work on a decentralized competitor to Twitter

Meta confirmed that a decentralized social network is indeed in development: “We are exploring the idea of ​​an independent decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We think there is an opportunity here for a dedicated space where creators and public figures can share content about their interests.”

The P92 will remain under the Instagram banner and allow users to register and log in using Instagram credentials, sources said. User profiles will be populated with their Instagram account details if they use their credentials from a photo-sharing app. But according to what MoneyControl saw in the product, “data transfer from Instagram to P92 will be minimal, almost minimal” after initial registration.

Since the app is decentralized, users can set up their own server and set their own content moderation rules. A source told MoneyControl that the app will allow users to broadcast their messages to other servers, but it is not yet known if they will also be able to subscribe to each other on different servers. However, if the app is ActivityPub compliant, people expect the app to interact with Mastodon and other dApps that support this protocol.

This application answers today to codename P92

Meta has a list of features that they absolutely need in this app, including links to post previews, image and video sharing, and certification badges. The sources did not say if the company plans to charge for the badge. In this regard, remember that in February last year, Meta launched a paid certification service for $12 per month for Facebook and Instagram. Users will be able to leave comments and send private messages, but this may not be available in the first version of the app. And right now, Meta isn’t sure if it wants to allow users to re-share like they can on Twitter.

MoneyControl explains that it is not entirely certain that the US giant has started development of this application or is just defining its outlines and planning the various stages of the project. By the time this app launches, it should have a lot of competition anyway, as Twitter’s rivals continue to multiply to offer credible alternatives after Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter late last year.