Meta's Threads social app announced it reached 500 million monthly active users as of June 13, 2026, nearly three years after its launch in 2023 shortly after Elon Musk acquired Twitter [1, 2]. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has set a goal for Threads to hit 1 billion users, putting the platform roughly halfway to that milestone [1, 2].
Threads has expanded its daily active user base over the past year, according to Threads head Connor Hayes, who said, "On balance you should walk away from the app feeling good because you’re informed" [1]. The platform initially avoided political content but has since evolved toward embracing political relevance to increase cultural impact [1].
The app's growth has been strongly linked to its integration with other Meta apps like Instagram [1]. However, more users are now accessing Threads directly rather than through Meta app referrals, signaling it is becoming a destination app in its own right [1].
Threads continues to build community engagement through over 200 dedicated topic communities currently in beta [2]. It is also developing user controls for its feed algorithm, launching the "Dear Algo" feature in early 2026 to publicly share user preferences and "Your Algo" in June 2026 to allow private control of the feed algorithm in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand [2]. Connor Hayes said letting users create their own communities could debut "maybe in the next year" [2].
The app has found particular popularity in South Korea, where time spent on Threads increased more than 80% year-over-year. K-pop group BTS joined the platform just before mid-June 2026 and quickly amassed over 4.2 million followers [1].
Next steps for Threads include rolling out the "Your Algo" private controls more widely and potentially enabling user-created communities within the next year [2].
