Threads, the social media app developed by Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has achieved a remarkable milestone by attracting over 100 million users in less than five days. This achievement surpasses the previous record set by Open AI’s ChatGPT app.
The platform was launched globally on Apple and Android app stores across 100 countries, including the United Kingdom, last Wednesday. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, expressed his astonishment at the rapid pace at which the milestone was reached.
However, Threads has faced some obstacles along the way. Notably, the app is currently unavailable in mainland Europe due to uncertainties surrounding its compliance with European Union data privacy legislation.
It is evident that Threads has garnered significant attention and interest from users, demonstrating its potential to rival established platforms like Twitter.
EU’s industry commissioner, Thierry Breton, has made his first public comments on the Threads situation, stating that “taking a little time to do so seems to me to be probably good policy.” These remarks were made during an interview with French radio station Franceinfo.
Although Threads has encountered challenges with EU data privacy legislation, it has experienced rapid growth.
Meta, the parent company of Threads and Facebook, reported that the app garnered 10 million users within the first seven hours of its launch, surpassing 30 million users by Thursday morning. Within approximately 24 hours, this number had more than doubled.
However, Threads still has a significant gap to close in order to catch up with its main competitor, Twitter. With 100 million users, Threads currently represents less than a third of Twitter’s estimated 350 million user base.
Some Twitter users have expressed disillusionment since billionaire Elon Musk assumed ownership of the platform. Under his leadership, the company has undergone significant job cuts, and Musk has introduced various changes aimed at generating revenue.