A year and a half ago, Threads was but a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye. Today, the rival to Elon Musk’s X has reached a significant milestone with more than 175 million monthly active users, the Meta CEO announced on Wednesday.
A year in review
Zuckerberg’s announcement comes as Threads is about to hit its one-year anniversary. Launched on July 5th, 2023, Threads emerged at a time when Musk was making drastic changes to the service formerly known as Twitter and challenging Zuckerberg to a literal cage match that never materialized. A year later, Threads continues to grow steadily, although not as rapidly as during its initial launch. Meanwhile, Musk has not shared comparable metrics for X since taking over.
The growth story
As with any social network, monthly users only tell part of the growth story. Unlike Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, Meta has yet to share daily user numbers for Threads. This omission suggests that Threads still experiences significant flyby traffic from people who have yet to become regular users.
According to Meta employees, much of Threads’ growth is still driven by promotion within Instagram. Both apps share the same account system, which isn’t expected to change. Despite this, 175 million monthly users for a one-year-old app is impressive, especially given Meta’s mixed track record with launching standalone app experiments.
Zuckerberg’s vision
Zuckerberg has expressed optimism that Threads could become Meta’s next billion-user app. To sustain its growth, Meta is focusing on markets where it sees opportunities to take more market share from X, such as Japan.
For now, Threads remains a loss leader for Meta financially, though the company can afford to support it indefinitely. Internally, executives are considering introducing ads in Threads sometime next year, though the exact plan is still undecided. It’s easy to envision how Threads could integrate into Instagram’s existing ad system. Given Meta’s strategy to deprioritize politics and encourage lighthearted content, Threads could become a compelling platform for advertisers seeking a more brand-safe alternative to X.
Looking ahead
“It would be great if it gets really, really big, but I’m actually more interested in if it becomes culturally relevant and if it gets hundreds of millions of users,” Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said when Threads first launched. A year later, Threads still has progress to make on the cultural front. However, its continued growth indicates that Meta has the runway to achieve this goal.
Conclusion
Threads’ journey from concept to 175 million monthly users in just one year is a testament to Meta’s ability to innovate and capture market interest. While there are still challenges ahead, Zuckerberg’s vision for Threads as a billion-user app is closer to reality. With strategic focus and continued growth, Threads could become a significant player in the social media landscape, offering a fresh alternative to existing platforms and becoming culturally relevant on a global scale.
