Meta's Threads tops 175 million monthly active users, Zuckerberg says
Threads launched nearly one year ago and has seen its user base rebound after it dipped following an initial surge
Instagram users call for consent on Meta’s new AI training
FOX Business’ Kelly O’Grady joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to weigh in on Meta’s controversial use of public social media posts to train artificial intelligence.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Wednesday that the company's newest social media platform, Threads, surpassed 175 million monthly active users (MAU) as it approaches its first anniversary.
"What a year," Zuckerberg said in a post on Threads noting the user milestone. In February, Zuckerberg said that the platform had more than 150 million MAU, suggesting that the platform has seen some growth in recent months.
Meta, which is also the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, hasn't disclosed other key metrics related to Threads' usage, such as the platform's count of daily active users and the average time spent on the app per user.
Threads was launched last year on July 5 as a rival to X, formerly Twitter, when that platform was in the early stages of a rebrand following its acquisition by an ownership group led by Elon Musk.
META'S THREADS NOW AVAILABLE IN EUROPE FOR NEARLY HALF A BILLION USERS
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the tech giant's Threads platform (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
After its launch, Threads' user base surged to 100 million users in less than a week. The initial launch included not only the U.S. but also more than 100 countries, including the United Kingdom.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| META | META PLATFORMS INC. | 554.40 | +0.32 | +0.06% |
That rapid growth was enabled in part by Meta creating an easy way for Instagram users to create an account on Threads, and some of its early users subsequently dropped off the roll of active users, with the platform seeing some key metrics decline in the days after its launch, according to analytics firms.
DATA INDICATES THREADS HAD TWO ENGAGEMENT METRICS DECLINE DAYS AFTER ROLLOUT
Zuckerberg previously said that Meta's goal is for Threads to reach the 1 billion user threshold within a few years. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Zuckerberg said in the fall of 2023 that Threads' MAU total was "just under 100 million" and that the company aimed to reach the 1 billion threshold within the next few years.
In December, Threads became available for users in the European Union which broadened its potential user base by 448 million users. The delay in launching in Europe was due to the EU's strict regulations covering online platforms, including the Digital Markets Act rules that were implemented in 2022.
Threads launched on July 5, 2023. (Paul Hanna/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Threads doesn't have advertising on the platform and, as a result, makes little to no money for Meta.
The platform also recently came on the Fediverse, a group of social media sites that support the ActivityPub protocol and whose users can interact across platforms.
Reuters contributed to this report.