Threads, the Twitter rival developed by Meta Platforms, has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing 100 million sign-ups within just five days of its launch. This achievement positions Threads as the fastest-growing online platform to reach such a massive user base, outpacing ChatGPT, which held the previous record. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the milestone in a Threads post, emphasizing the organic demand for the platform and the absence of extensive promotional efforts thus far.
Threads’ rapid ascent has caught the attention of analysts who view it as a serious contender to Elon Musk’s microblogging app. In the days following Threads’ launch, Twitter’s web traffic experienced an 11% decrease compared to the previous year, leading to concerns about the platform’s future. However, Twitter’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, claimed that the platform had its “largest usage day” since February, although specific details were not provided.
While Threads faces competition from other challengers, such as Mastodon, Bluesky, Truth Social, and T2, these platforms remain relatively small in comparison. For instance, Mastodon boasts approximately 7.7 million users, but only a fraction actively engage with the service. Bluesky, backed by Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, has seen moderate success with 265,000 users and a waitlist of around 2 million.
Threads’ similarities to Twitter, including its character limit of 500 and support for links, photos, and videos, make it an attractive alternative. However, the absence of direct messaging, desktop functionality, hashtags, and keyword search features limits its appeal to certain user groups and advertisers.
Despite these limitations, analysts suggest that Twitter’s recent controversies, such as tweet visibility limits, could drive users toward Threads. Currently, the app does not include advertisements, and Zuckerberg stated that monetization would only be considered once the platform reaches 1 billion users.
Meta’s Instagram head, Adam Mosseri, clarified that Threads does not aim to replace Twitter but rather focuses on lighter subjects like sports, music, fashion, and design. However, he acknowledged that political and hard news discussions are likely to emerge on the platform, posing a challenge to its “friendly” image for online public discourse.
Meta’s shares experienced a 1.2% increase following the Threads milestone announcement, and the company has achieved a remarkable 140% gain so far this year. With its unprecedented growth rate and potential to reshape the social media landscape, Threads appears to be a force to be reckoned with in the digital sphere.