Meta’s Threads app has reached a significant milestone, surpassing 175 million users. This rapid growth highlights the app’s popularity since its launch. Initially designed as a “Twitter killer” by the Instagram team, Threads achieved an impressive 100 million downloads within its first week, outpacing other popular apps like OpenAI in their initial user acquisition rates. However, the app’s growth has steadied, with more consistent user engagement over the past months.
The app’s early days were marked by a lack of essential features, which was a notable drawback for users accustomed to the comprehensive functionalities of Twitter. Basic features such as alt text for images, hashtag support, and a chronological feed were missing, making it challenging for users to keep up with content from friends and family. Despite these limitations, Meta has been actively updating the app, introducing features like trending topics in the U.S. and options for hiding custom words and phrases.
Meta’s strategy for Threads involves focusing on community and lifestyle content rather than politics and hard news. This approach aims to create a vibrant platform centered around interests like sports, music, fashion, and entertainment. The platform’s growth trajectory suggests it might become Meta’s next billion-user app, although this will depend on its ability to continually enhance user experience and expand its feature set.
Despite the initial lack of features, Threads has been outperforming Twitter (now X) in certain metrics. For example, it has more daily users in the U.S. than X, according to estimates from Apptopia. Notably, celebrities such as Taylor Swift have joined Threads, boosting its visibility and user engagement. As the app continues to evolve, it will likely introduce monetization strategies once it achieves a sufficiently large user base, similar to Meta’s approach with its other platforms.
