Meta Developing New, Decentralized Social App for Sharing Text Updates

Meta, the company behind social media giants such as Facebook and Instagram, is currrently working on a new decentralized social app for sharing text updates, as reported first by TechCrunch on Friday, March 10.

The company confirmed this development with their spokesperson saying that they are "exploring a standalone decentralized 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."

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A person walks past a newly unveiled logo for "Meta", the new name for Facebook's parent company, outside Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park on October 28, 2021. - Facebook changed its parent company name to "Meta" on October 28 as the tech giant tries to move past being a scandal-plagued social network to its virtual reality vision for the future.

Decentralized App P92

MoneyControl reported that a new decentralized app, codenamed P92, is currently in development by Meta. The app will allow users to log in using their Instagram credentials, as stated in the documents viewed by the publication.

However, this move may raise concerns among individuals who do not want to share their data with another Meta app.

According to a report by Platformer, Instagram head Adam Mosseri will oversee the project. The company is also taking the necessary steps to address privacy concerns before the app's public release, involving the legal department.

Meta's goal with this new app is to develop an alternative to Twitter or a competitor to Mastodon, which gained popularity after Elon Musk took over Twitter. The decentralized network is part of the Fediverse, a network of decentralized servers supporting the ActivityPub protocol.

ActivityPub

MoneyControl also reported that Meta's P92 app intends to support ActivityPub, making it easier for users to connect with other instances, including Mastodon

Various platforms such as Tumblr, Flipboard, and Flickr have either implemented or are planning to implement ActivityPub support, among other decentralization protocols.

Bluesky, an iOS app backed by Jack Dorsey, was also recently launched in beta, while messaging applications like Rocket.chat have adopted the Matrix protocol.

Blaine Cook, a former engineer at Twitter, believes that the existence of different protocols is crucial for diversifying both protocols and applications built on top of them.

Cook also commented that interoperability between ActivityPub and Bluesky would not be challenging. The only hindrance to interoperability between Twitter and Facebook's timeline has been the protectionist policies of these companies.

It is worth noting that Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has launched several apps and experiences that have not always been successful.

In recent years, it has discontinued experimental apps such as tbh, Super, Neighborhoods, Tuned, Campus, Sparked, and Lasso, according to TechCrunch.

Hence, this new app in development can go many ways and time will tell if Meta will continue the project and introduce the new social network to the world.