Threads is an online social media and social networking service operated by Meta Platforms. The app offers users the ability to post and share text, images, and videos, as well as interact with other users' posts through replies, reposts, and likes. Closely linked to Meta platform Instagram and additionally requiring users to both have an Instagram account and use Threads under the same Instagram handle, the functionality of Threads is similar to X. The application is available on iOS and Android devices, while a web version offers limited functionality. It is the fastest-growing consumer software application in history, gaining over 100 million users in its first five days, surpassing the record previously set by ChatGPT. Its early success was not sustained and the user base of the app plummeted more than 80% to 8 million daily active users by the end of July, although its popularity has since begun to recover.
After Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, Meta employees explored the concept of introducing text-based functionality to Instagram. This feature, known as Instagram Notes, was rolled out in December 2022. The company subsequently began developing a separate app focused on text-based posts. Development on Threadsinternally known as "Project 92"commenced in January 2023, with the platform officially launching on July 5, 2023. Threads immediately became available in 100 countries (out of 193 UN member states), but has delayed its launch in the European Union as it waits for regulatory clarity from the European Commission regarding the service's data collection policies.
History
Predecessor
In October 2019, Threads was introduced as a separate app available for Android and iOS. This app's functionality resembled that of Snapchat, allowing users to communicate through messaging and video chats. It was integrated with Instagram's "Close friends" feature, so that users could send images, photos, and texts privately to others, and was embedded with Instagram's photo editing system. Instagram discontinued this version of Threads in December 2021, mainly due to most of its features being rolled out on Instagram, as well as low usage compared to other social media applications. Approximately 220,000 users globally downloaded the original Threads app, less than 0.1% of Instagram's monthly active users.
Development and announcement
On April 14, 2022, business magnate Elon Musk attempted a takeover of the social media platform Twitter. On October 27, Musk acquired the company for billion in an agreement with the company's board. As Twitter's owner and CEO, Musk implemented several changes to the platform, including monetizing the platform's application programming interface (API); his views and policy changes concerned many advertisers, some of whom left the platform. In November 2022, Meta employees started discussing the possibility of creating a separate app for Instagram Notes, an upcoming text-based feature designed for Instagram. That month, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg—seeking to take advantage of the situation—discussed Twitter-like features the company could add to Instagram with the service's head, Adam Mosseri. At the end of the discussion, Mosseri agreed to building a separate app with a planned release date of January 2023.
Amid several layoffs at Meta Platforms, Mosseri and product leader Connor Hayes assembled a team comprising two product managers, two designers, and dozens of engineers from Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram, growing to fifty-six people by the app's launch. The team favored agility, opting to build features, such as searching for content, later. Development began that January under the codename "P92". Moneycontrol obtained information about the app in March, and The Verge published details from an internal company-wide meeting in June. The project, referred to as "Project 92", was described by chief product officer Chris Cox as the company's response to Twitter. Meta Platforms had reportedly secured commitments from some celebrities and was in talks with Oprah Winfrey and the Dalai Lama.