Threads Hits 500 Million Monthly Users and Rolls Out Private Algorithm Controls

Meta’s Threads crossed 500 million monthly active users on Tuesday, June 16, nearly three years after its July 2023 launch. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had set a goal of reaching one billion users on day one, meaning the platform is now halfway to that mark.

Threads gained 100 million monthly users since it reported 400 million last August. The announcement comes as the platform rolls out a feature that does not exist on X: a private algorithm control called “Your Algo.”

Private Feed Controls Roll Out in Select Markets

Your Algo lets a user privately tell the app to show more or less of a specific topic for one, three, or seven days. It builds on the earlier “Dear Algo” feature, which required a public post to make the same request. The company said the new tool keeps preferences local to the account.

The feature is rolling out first in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Meta has historically staggered Threads releases, making the app available in the European Union months after its U.S. debut.

• Your Algo requests expire after one week, preserving Meta’s ultimate control over feed ranking.
• Live Chats will reach all communities by July, letting users follow real-time pinned threads tied to events such as the World Cup.
• Communities, topic-based spaces for interests like basketball, K-pop, and books, exited beta with a discovery hub and badges for top contributors.
• Meta credited Communities for “all” of Threads’ recent daily-active user growth.
• Threads launched without search, hashtags, or a chronological feed; each of these features has been added incrementally over the past two years.

Unanswered Questions on Daily Engagement and Revenue

Meta is not disclosing a current daily active user number. The last public figure was 150 million daily users, shared in October. The company stated daily users are “growing strongly” and that growth is increasingly organic, with more users opening Threads directly rather than tapping through from Instagram.

External trackers had recently estimated Threads’ user base was shrinking, making Meta’s growth claim a partial rebuttal to that data. In Asia, time spent on the app is up 80 percent year over year in South Korea and 130 percent in Japan. Threads gained 4.2 million followers in days after the K-pop group BTS joined the platform.

Revenue remains minimal. Threads introduced ads in 200 countries this year, but Meta’s finance chief said in April that the platform “will not be a meaningful driver of revenue in 2026.” Threads boss Connor Hayes framed the new features as a way to host real-time conversation without the loud, video-centric feel of other social networks. He called the Live Chats a “second screen” experience. Whether the combination of private feed tuning and curated community spaces can sustain growth toward the billion-user milestone remains an open question.