Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is reportedly creating a separate text content app to support ActivityPub. ActivityPub is a decentralized social networking protocol that powers Mastodon and other decentralized applications that compete with Twitter.
The upcoming app is codenamed P92 and will allow users to sign in with their existing Instagram credentials, according to according to a report by TechCrunch. The new app will be branded on Instagram, allowing users to register and log in using their Instagram credentials.
The P92 team plans to follow a “fork” approach with the MVP, so users will initially log in and log into the P92 app using their Instagram login details, and their profile will be populated with their account details (eg name, username , biography, profile photo, followers).
According to the product brief, the app will adhere to the company’s current privacy policy, but will also have an additional privacy policy and terms of service that specifically address data sharing between apps.
Tech companies and startups are trying to take advantage a growing trend of Twitter users looking for alternative platforms. In the past few months, several rival platforms such as Mastodon, Post.news and T2 have either launched or gained traction in their efforts to attract these users.
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The current plan for the minimum viable product (MVP) is to allow users to broadcast posts to people on other servers. However, it is still undecided whether users will be able to track and view content from people on other servers.
The initial version of the app will include features such as tappable links in preview posts, user bio, username, verification badges, shareable images and videos. It will also have functionalities like followers and likes, but it is uncertain whether commenting and messaging features will be included in the first version of the product.
The development team is also discussing the possibility of allowing content resharing like Twitter, but only for business and creator accounts. MVP will integrate a rights manager for first-party content from the start, but not for third-party content from other applications and servers.
Cointelegraph has contacted Meta for confirmation, and this article will be updated when new information becomes available.