Facebook preparing new app to maintain pressure on Snapchat

Threads app will encourage 'frictionless' data sharing with selected Instagram followers

Facebook is reportedly preparing to take on Snapchat yet again, with a new app built on top of Instagram to facilitate ever more intimate sharing of information between close friends.

The new app is called Threads, according to the tech news site the Verge, which broke the news of its existence. The app, which is being tested internally at Facebook, builds on the "Close Friends" feature introduced in Instagram last year, which allows users to specify a subset of their followers with whom they are comfortable sharing more private posts and stories.