Threads, Meta’s fast-growing social platform and competitor to X, has officially crossed 500 million monthly active users. The company announced the milestone alongside a wave of new product updates aimed at making the app more personalized, interactive, and community-focused.
A key new feature is called “Your Algo,” which gives users more direct control over what appears in their feed. Unlike the earlier “Dear Algo” tool, which required public posts to influence recommendations, “Your Algo” works privately. Users can simply select topics they want more or less of and set how long those preferences should apply, with options like one, three, or seven days. The company says the goal is to give people more control without forcing them to broadcast their preferences publicly. The feature is currently rolling out in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Threads is also expanding its “Communities” feature, which was introduced last year to group users around shared interests such as sports, entertainment, books, and music. The update includes a new “Communities Hub,” making it easier for users to discover and join relevant groups. Each community will also get clearer visual identification, helping users recognize them more easily while browsing.
According to Threads head Connor Hayes, the update is designed to solve a key problem: discovery. He explained that users tend to have a better experience when they quickly find communities that match their interests, but many people struggled to locate them previously. The new hub is meant to make that process smoother and more intuitive.
Live Chats are also expanding beyond their limited rollout. These real-time discussion spaces, first introduced in April, allow users to comment together during live events like sports tournaments and cultural moments. Threads will now allow more communities to host Live Chats, and users will be able to co-host discussions or quote specific moments directly into their feed. By July, the feature will be available across all communities.
Hayes described Live Chats as a quieter alternative to more chaotic, video-heavy social platforms, positioning them as a “second-screen” experience for users who want commentary while watching events. This reflects Threads’ broader strategy of balancing real-time engagement with a less noisy user environment.
The expansion of Live Chats also signals Threads’ ambition to close the gap with X in live, real-time conversations. While X has long been associated with breaking news and global commentary, Threads initially lacked core features like hashtags, strong search tools, and a chronological feed. Over time, the platform has added many of these capabilities, steadily shaping itself into a more competitive alternative.
The new milestone also highlights Threads’ rapid acceleration. The platform added 100 million users in just 10 months, growing from 400 million monthly active users in August 2025 to 500 million today. Meta says this growth has been supported by continuous feature updates over the past year, including direct messages, ghost posts, and desktop messaging.
Together, the latest changes suggest Threads is focusing on two key goals: improving personalization for individual users and strengthening community-based engagement.
