Threads, Instagram’s text-based app, has reached 100 million sign-ups in just five days. According to a tracker, the Twitter competitor went live on June 6 (or June 5 in the Americas).
On the first day, Mark Zuckerberg reported that the app had 2 million sign-ups in two hours, 5 million sign-ups in four hours, and 10 million registered users in seven hours. The following morning, Meta’s CEO announced that more than 30 million individuals had signed up to try the new software.
Until now, OpenAI’s ChatGPT bot was one of the fastest-growing consumer products, with 10 million daily users in 40 days and 100 million monthly users in less than two months. Given that this is Threads’ first month, it has already surpassed the 100 million monthly active user mark. The real problem will be retaining users on the platform.
While many people are experimenting with Meta’s new text-focused social platform, there are several aspects that are lacking. Notably, the app does not support ActivityPub, the protocol used for decentralized network posts. While Meta has stated that it is working on it, the app will not be considered a part of the Fediverse until the integration is completed.
Aside from that, the app features a read-only web interface, no functionality for post search, direct messages, hashtags, or a “Following” feed, and no “Following” feed. Instagram’s regulations prohibit the service from allowing nudity on its platform, which another Twitter alternative Bluesky supports.
Nonetheless, reaching 100 million users in such a short period of time is no easy task. Threads appears to be here to stay.
