One of the big differences between Threads and Meta's other apps is that the service is completely ad-free — something that's rampant on Facebook and Instagram.
That’s about to change, though. Meta just announced it’s launching its first small test of ads on Threads, according to Adam Mosseri, Meta’s head of Instagram, as the company prepares to monetize the new platform.
The ads will appear as images mixed with content in users' news feeds and will initially only be visible to a "small group of users" in the US and Japan.
Meta plans to start with “a handful of brands” in these two countries, according to Mosseri.
“We understand there will be a lot of feedback on our approach to ads, and we’re trying to make them feel like interesting and relevant Threads posts. We’ll be closely monitoring this test before expanding it, with the goal of making Threads ads as engaging as native content,” said Adam Mosseri.
Threads, Meta's social networking app launched in July 2023, is billed as a direct competitor to Twitter. Threads is tightly integrated with Instagram, allowing users to log in using their Instagram accounts and easily connect with existing contacts.
By mid-December 2024, Threads had reached around 300 million users, with over 100 million daily active users.
