Threads is the fastest-growing app in history with 100 million new users in less than a week

Threads, Meta’s new social media app, has signed up 100 million new users less than a week since its launch, a significant milestone for the text-based platform that aims to challenge Twitter.

Threads hit that mark early Monday morning, according to figures from data platform Quiver Quantitative, noting the Meta-owned platform has beaten a record previously held by Open AI’s ChatGPT app, which earned 100 million users in two months.

Threads is linked with Instagram, giving it a built-in audience

The app, labelled by some tech experts as a possible “Twitter killer,” is billed as a text-based version of Meta’s photo-sharing app Instagram that the company says provides “a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations.”

Within the first seven hours of its launch last Wednesday, Threads had 10 million users, a figure that grew to 30 million by Thursday, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Threads’ quick growth is likely attributable to the fact that it’s linked to Instagram, permitting users on that platform to log in with their existing usernames and follow the same accounts on the new app. That ready-made audience has given Threads an edge over other Twitter challengers like Bluesky Social and Mastodon.

Threads app facing possible legal and privacy issues

Since Threads’ launch, however, Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta. In a letter Wednesday to Zuckerberg, Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Twitter, accused Meta of unlawfully using Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property by hiring former Twitter employees to create a “copycat” app.

The platform, which allows users to issue posts of up to 500 characters, has also come under scrutiny in recent days for its far-reaching data policy. In keeping with Meta’s reputation for harvesting users’ personal information, Threads’ privacy policy will enable the app access to financial info, personal info, photos, location, contacts and search history, among other data.

Though the app has been launched in more than 100 countries, including the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan, it’s currently unavailable in the European Union due to regulatory uncertainty.

Threads launch comes amid turbulence at Twitter

Threads’ launch comes amid a period of instability at Twitter, which was acquired by tech billionaire Elon Musk last year. Since the sale, the social media platform has started charging users a monthly subscription to be verified, laid off a majority of its workforce and loosened rules against hate speech.

Meta executives reportedly called their product a “sanely run” version of a social network, an apparent jab at Musk’s recent performance.

Threads user count still significantly trails that of Twitter, which is estimated to have more than 350 million active monthly users.

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