Meta working on text-based decentralized social network codenamed P92

Meta is reportedly building a decentralized, text-based social network that supports ActivityPub, the decentralized social networking protocol that powers Twitter-rival Mastodon.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is reportedly creating a separate text-based content app that will support ActivityPub. ActivityPub is a decentralized social networking protocol that powers Mastodon and other decentralized apps that compete with Twitter. 

The upcoming app is codenamed P92 and will allow users to log in with their existing Instagram credentials, according to a report by TechCrunch. The new app will be Instagram-branded, allowing users to register and log in using their Instagram credentials.

The P92 team is planning to follow the “fork” approach with the MVP, so users will initially sign up and log into the P92 app using their Instagram login information and their profile will be populated with their account details (e.g. name, username, bio, profile photo, followers).

According to the product brief, the app will adhere to the company’s current privacy policy, but it will also have a supplementary privacy policy and terms of service that specifically address cross-app data sharing.

Technology companies and startups have been looking to take advantage of the growing trend of Twitter users seeking alternative platforms. In recent months, several rival platforms such as Mastodon, Post.news and T2 have either launched or gained traction in their efforts to attract these users.

Related: Decentralized social media a game changer for creator monetization — Web3 exec

The current plan for the minimum viable product (MVP) is to enable users to broadcast posts to people on other servers. However, it is still undecided whether users will be able to follow and view the content of people on other servers.

The initial version of the app will include features such as tappable links in posts with previews, user bio, username, verification badges, images and videos that can be shared. It will also have functionalities such as 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 to be reshared like Twitter, but only for business and creator accounts. The MVP will integrate a rights manager for first-party content from the beginning but not for third-party content from other apps and servers.

Cointelegraph reached out to Meta for confirmation, and this article will be updated once new information becomes available.