Snap shares slide after Facebook launches competitive app
- Sara Fischer, author of Axios Media Trends
Shares for Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, were down nearly 7% after Facebook announced the launch of "Threads," a new messaging app for Facebook-owned Instagram that looks and feels a lot like Snapchat.
Why it matters: The app could certainly pose a real threat to Snapchat, as it will be made available and likely marketed to all of Instagram's 1 billion+ users around the world.
Details: The description of the new Threads app by Facebook draws an uncanny resemblance to Snapchat.
- Facebook calls it a "camera-first messaging app that helps you stay connected to your close friends." This is nearly identical to how Snapchat describes its main app and core functionality.
The big picture: Social media and messaging communication is becoming more private, group-oriented and ephemeral as privacy concerns mount.
- Facebook said earlier this year it would pivot its business toward being more privacy-centric as a result of these trends.
Be smart: It's notable that Facebook chose to launch the app amid multiple U.S. antitrust probes into how it may be using its dominance to cripple competitors.
- Just last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Snapchat's legal team has been documenting Facebook's anti-competitive tactics for years in a file dubbed "Project Voldemort."
Our thought bubble: The move suggests that Facebook isn't too worried about whether or how launching rival apps and features could be an antitrust problem for now.
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