Meta's Threads has crossed 500 million monthly active users, the company announced Tuesday — a milestone reached just shy of the platform's third birthday, according to The Verge.
The number underscores how quickly the Twitter alternative has grown since its splashy 2023 debut. According to The Verge, Threads hit 100 million users faster than ChatGPT did, one of the fastest consumer app ramp-ups on record.
Alongside the user milestone, Meta is rolling out a wave of new features aimed at giving people more say over what they see. The headline addition, according to TechCrunch, is a tool called "Your Algo" — a control panel that lets users tune their own feeds rather than leaving that entirely to Meta's recommendation engine. The update also includes new personalization and community features, though TechCrunch did not detail all of them at the time of the announcement.
The timing is deliberate. Threads is maturing from a novelty into a platform that needs to retain users, not just attract them — and giving people algorithmic control is a proven lever for engagement. Rivals like Bluesky have made feed customization a core selling point, and Meta appears to be closing that gap.
For everyday users, the shift matters because it moves Threads closer to a platform you can shape around your interests rather than one that decides for you — a meaningful distinction as social media fatigue grows.