Threads Celebrates First Anniversary with 175 Million Users: Meta's Twitter Rival Reaches New Heights

 

Promoted through their Instagram accounts, more than 100 million people downloaded Threads within a week of its launch in 100 countries

Threads Reaches 175 Million Monthly Users on First Anniversary: Meta's Twitter Rival Thrives

Threads, Meta's alternative to X (formerly Twitter), has reached 175 million monthly users just a year after its unexpected launch.

"What a year," Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday on Threads, announcing the platform had reached this milestone.

Threads, which hit app stores on July 5 last year, is a spin-off of Instagram and was developed to rival X, formerly known as Twitter. This came after the platform alienated many users and advertisers following Elon Musk's acquisition in 2022.

Threads was rushed out after Musk threatened to limit the number of posts non-subscribers could see on X.

This launch was one of many chaotic announcements by the unpredictable Tesla founder, and Zuckerberg seized the moment.

Promoted through Instagram accounts, more than 100 million people downloaded Threads within a week of its launch in over 100 countries, though the EU had to wait until December due to regulatory concerns.

The push from Instagram helped Threads become the fastest downloaded app ever, breaking the previous record held by AI sensation ChatGPT.

The initial enthusiasm waned, but Threads has gradually grown its user base, significantly helped by the Instagram crossover and users turned off by Musk-owned X.

Threads chief Adam Mosseri said he hopes the platform will become more independent from Instagram over time and intends to open it to advertisers in the near future.

Getting bigger than Musk’s X "will take some time, but I will consider it a failure if we don't get there," Mosseri told the Platformer news website.

Threads has drawn criticism for Meta's decision to downplay news and politics to create a more friendly environment than X, even at the risk of reducing engagement.

Promoted through their Instagram accounts, more than 100 million people downloaded Threads within a week of its launch in 100 countries

"A year after launch, we know what Threads isn't, but we don't know what it is," said Emarketer principal analyst Jasmine Enberg.

"The lack of a unique identity is one of its biggest hurdles to achieving real staying power," she added.

Now privately owned by Musk, X no longer releases industry metrics; the company insists that its user base is growing and more engaged than on other platforms.

"Threads was launched during a time when X was struggling, but since then, X has been surprisingly resilient," said Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst at research firm Sonata Insights.

"Sports and political discussions are still very active on X, and considering that we have the Olympics, Euro 2024, and the US presidential election this year (among other major events), X will probably continue to attract users," she added.

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