Threads Surpasses 200 Million Users, Challenging X in the Social Media Arena

Meta’s Threads, the social media platform rivalling X (formerly known as Twitter), has crossed 200 million active users.

This comes shortly after Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, spoke on the platform’s rapid growth during the company’s second-quarter earnings call for 2024.

Adam Mosseri, who heads Instagram, confirmed the news in a post on Threads, noting the platform’s prospects to enhance community and inspire collective ideas.

Launched in July 2023, Threads has experienced outstanding growth, reaching 150 million users by April 2024 and 175 million by its one-year anniversary in July.

The latest surge has brought the user base beyond 200 million, showing an increase in acceleration over recent weeks. This expansion reveals the platform’s ability to attract users despite its ties to Instagram, pointing to genuine engagement beyond mere profile creation.

Threads’ rise can be partially attributed to the changing dynamics of online discourse, with users seeking alternatives to X amidst its controversial changes under Elon Musk’s leadership.

The recent political issue, including the U.S. election activities and other global events, may have further driven users toward Threads, providing a space for real-time discussions.

Zuckerberg remains positive about the platform’s future, aiming for the platform to reach over a billion users eventually. While Threads still lags behind X’s larger user base, its current growth direction shows a favourable sign for its potential to capture a great share of the social media industry.