The Truth social network logo is shown in this image illustration taken February 21, 2022. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Illustration
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May 2 (Reuters) – Former US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social app will be launched on a web browser in late May, CEO Devin Nunes said on Monday.
In a post on the platform, Nunes also said that Truth Social has not yet been approved for launch in the Google Play Store for Android devices.
“At the end of May we will launch PWA (web browser), this will allow access from any device,” Nunes wrote. “Then we launch an Android app … awaiting approval from Google!”
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Availability in Google Play and the Apple App Store is the key to the app’s ability to scale up.
Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), was launched with the mission to stand up to Big Tech after Trump was fired from Twitter (TWTR.N), Facebook and YouTube for allegedly inciting or glorifying violence during January. 6 US Capitol riots.
Still, the social media venture is limited by its reliance on Alphabet-owned Google (GOOGL.O) and Apple (AAPL.O), which run app stores that dominate the smartphone market. Read more
Truth Social was launched in the Apple App Store on February 21 and was for a time the most downloaded free app there. It was number two on the list on Monday.
Trump began writing on the page late Thursday, for the first time since he posted a “truth” – as posts are called – on February 14.
TMTG plans to go public through a merger with the blank check company Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC). The trade is under the control of the Securities and Exchange Commission and is likely months away from being closed.
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Reporting by Helen Coster; editing by John Stonestreet
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