Meta Platforms to Introduce Ads on Threads

(Reuters) – Meta Platforms plans to introduce advertisements to its social media app Threads early next year, according to the Information, citing three people with direct knowledge of the plans.

Threads was launched in July last year as a competitor to X, formerly Twitter, aiming to win users during the chaotic takeover by billionaire Elon Musk.

The app has reached 275 million monthly active users, Meta (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg reported last month, indicating its rapid growth.

According to the report, Threads will allow a small number of advertisers to create and publish ads starting January. A team from Instagram's advertising division is leading this initiative.

However, Meta does not anticipate Threads to be a significant revenue driver in 2025, as stated by CFO Susan Li during an earnings call in October. She mentioned that the company plans to introduce more features on the app.

"Since our priority is to build consumer value first and foremost, there are no ads or monetization features currently on Threads," a Meta spokesperson said in an email.

Threads could attract advertisers from X, especially as the platform has witnessed significant changes under Musk. In August, Musk's X sued a global advertising alliance and several major companies, including Mars and CVS Health (NYSE:CVS), alleging they conspired to boycott the site, resulting in revenue loss.

Ad revenue at X has declined for months following Musk's acquisition in 2022, with some advertisers hesitant to spend due to concerns about harmful content appearing next to their brands, which would have been filtered out by previous owners.