Meta is finally preparing the launch in Europe of Threads, its alternative to X - the social network formerly known as Twitter. It will arrive this December, according to the Wall Street Journal, and with some important concessions in terms of privacy to overcome the regulatory obstacles of the European Union.
Europe is the only large territory, in fact, where the social network is not yet present. Meta launched this clone of expansion.
The service works very similar to X, although only with very basic functions. It is closely integrated with Instagram. Users, in fact, do not have to create a new account for the service, but rather use the same one they already have in that app.
In Europe, however, Meta will offer the possibility of viewing Threads content without having to have an active account, although one will be necessary to publish content, according to information obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
Threads had a promising start, surpassing 100 million registered users in just five days. Its usage in the following weeks, however, fell rapidly due to service limitations.
Over the past five months, meta has expanded the tools available and the ability to use the service from the web, once again encouraging users to post messages, photos and videos. It has also benefited from the various scandals that Elon Musk has been involved in as head of X, and which periodically revive the exodus of users from one platform to another. Right now it has about 33 million active users per day, or 75 million per month.
These figures are a tenth of the active traffic on X and an even smaller fraction of the traffic on Instagram itself. The landing in Europe, however, could help the audience grow. In Meta's latest financial results presentation, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and executive president of the company, assured that Threads has the potential to have more than one billion users. "I'm very confident that we're going to be able to pour enough gasoline to help it grow," he said.
At the moment, the social network does not have advertising or subscription services although, as it is linked to Instagram, users of the Meta Verified subscription service can display the verified account badge next to their name. Those responsible, in any case, have implied that when it reaches a significant volume of use they will open the door to advertisers.
