Threads' 400 million users shows it's winning with text-based conversations

When Threads first came on the scene, it felt like everyone was completely drawn to it. The app skyrocketed in downloads, reaching 1 million installs in just one hour, stealing a record from ChatGPT, which took five days to hit that milestone. But, the hype didn’t last long.

Unsurprisingly, hitting huge numbers that quickly doesn’t always translate into people sticking around for the long haul. Within weeks, daily usage began to taper off, and it started to look like Threads might become another “remember when?” moment in social media history.

Fast-forward two years, and that early burst of attention has turned into something more sustained. Instagram head Adam Mosseri revealed this week that Threads has now surpassed 400 million monthly active users (MAUs). That’s up from the 350 million MAUs Mark Zuckerberg announced back in April, meaning the platform added around 50 million users in just a few months. For an app that many thought had fizzled out after launch, this kind of steady climb suggests a different story is playing out.

CHART: Threads app surpasses 100 million users, becoming the fastest-growing platform ever

Threads, the menacing Meta-owned Twitter rival that is currently making waves in the social media landscape surged past a remarkable milestone – 100 million sign-ups in less than five days, cementing its position as the fastest-growing online platform in history. The app, which debuted on Apple and Android app stores in

TechloyEmmanuel Oyedeji

Part of this growth comes from the fact that Threads hasn’t stayed static. Over the past year, Meta has rolled out a wave of features that make it feel less like a rushed Twitter clone and more like a platform finding its own rhythm. Direct messaging, fediverse integrations, custom feeds, and AI enhancements have all helped boost engagement and keep users from drifting away. And it’s paying off. Data from Similarweb shows Threads’ mobile app reached 115.1 million daily active users in June 2025, up a staggering 127.8% year over year.

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TechloyEmmanuel Oyedeji

That puts Threads within striking distance of X (formerly Twitter) on mobile. X saw 132 million daily active users in the same month, but that’s after a 15.2% decline compared to last year. Web traffic still heavily favors X, which pulled in 145.8 million daily visits compared to Threads’ 6.9 million, but mobile is increasingly where the real battles for attention are being fought.

So while Threads hasn’t overtaken X just yet, the gap is narrower than ever. For a platform that many wrote off after its initial hype wave crashed, this 400 million MAU milestone is a sign it's still gaining ground. If Meta can keep improving the app without alienating its community, Threads might just become the place people go first for real-time conversation.

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TechloyEmmanuel Oyedeji