Meta’s Twitter clone app Threads continues to gain momentum, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg today reporting that the app is now up to 320 million monthly active users.
That’s up from the 300 million MAU that Meta reported last month, which means that Threads has added 20 million new users in the last six weeks.
As per Zuckerberg:
“Threads now has more than 320 million monthly actives, and has been adding more than 1 million sign-ups per day. I expect Threads to continue on its trajectory to become the leading discussion platform and eventually reach 1 billion people over the next several years.”
The increased growth means that Threads’ expansion is accelerating over time.
As you can see from this graph, the Threads MAU numbers are clearly trending upwards, with the app going from adding around 10 million new users per month at the start of last year, to a 25% better growth rate in this latest period.
Though Threads’ main growth period thus far was actually between August and October last year, when it added 75 million more users.
What happened in that period?
Well, X was temporarily banned in Brazil for one, after it refused to comply with a Brazilian court order to remove certain users. That pushed many more people in Threads’ direction, while Threads also added analytics in August, which could have helped to boost activity, as well as crossposting from both Facebook and IG.
A combination of these elements likely drove more take-up, while a steady exodus of users from X in all regions has also helped to fortify Threads’ momentum.
Of course, Threads did also seemingly take a hit in November, following the U.S. election, when Bluesky became the app of the moment, by offering a more Twitter-like, real-time news experience.
Though the shift away from Threads, and towards Bluesky, doesn’t seem to have held, with Bluesky’s user growth slowing in December, while as you can see in the above chart, Threads got back on track.
And Zuckerberg remains confident that Threads can reach a billion users, which is far higher than Twitter ever reached, and is around double X’s current audience.
Indeed, at this rate, Threads looks to be on track to overtake X’s user count before the year is out, though that’s with a lot of variables, and potential impediments to its growth.
But scale is the real driver here, and being where other users are engaging. The more conversations happening in, and originating from the app, the more people will want to join in. Which means that Threads could also boost its growth momentum if it can get it right, and it does seem to be solidifying itself as the place to be for many Twitter cast-offs and communities.
It’s not perfect, and using means you’re still relying on a Meta platform, which some people don’t like (especially given its recent reforms to better align with the Trump administration).
But right now, Threads is becoming more of a hub of activity, which could see it reach that critical point of inertia, where many, many more people sign up.
