The Instagram Threads launch countdown jumped forward and is now targeting 7PM ET

Instagram’s Twitter competitor, Threads, may launch a few hours earlier than we expected now that the countdown on threads.net has suddenly skipped forward and indicates it will end today at 7PM ET / 4PM PT.

We were expecting Meta’s new text-based social media platform to launch tomorrow at 10AM ET, but maybe something has changed and moved up the launch schedule. The app likely won’t be available in the European Union today, however, as Meta reportedly delayed the launch there over the region’s privacy regulations.

A listing in Apple’s App Store for iPhone and iPad devices (it also appeared on Google Play if you use Android, although the website suggests that version will launch later) indicated the launch would occur on July 6th, and it’s possible that the store’s requirements will kick things live based on GMT instead of a US-based daily calendar.

Either way, we’re extremely ready to see what Meta has prepared, especially after a preview of the web interface earlier today that was available for a few hours, showing posts from Mark Zuckerberg, Adam Mosseri, Robert Griffin III, MKBHD, and a few others who’ve seemingly been granted early access to the app.