Threads is not dying, Mark Zuckerberg says as he reveals Meta’s results

Instagram Threads could become a billion-person app, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has said.

The chief executive hit out against predictions that the app was losing steam, saying that it continued to keep its momentum. “Threads also remains a compelling long-term opportunity, and we’re excited to build on the strong product momentum we have going into next year,” the company’s chief financial officer Susan Li said.

Meta launched Threads three months ago, as part of an attempt to take over from Twitter. It became the fastest growing app in the world, seemingly helped by dissatisfaction with Twitter, but has lost some of its attention amid criticism of the app’s design and features.

But Meta said as it revealed its latest results that it was still focusing on Threads and expected it to grow. Eventually, it could have a billion people, Mr Zuckerberg suggested.

“I’ve thought for a long time there should be a billion-person public conversations app that is a bit more positive,” Mr Zuckerberg said in the earnings call. “I think that if we keep at this for a few more years, then I think we have a good chance of achieving our vision there.”

Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said on Threads that the company will be focusing on support for Europe – where it remains unavailable owing to privacy concerns – as well as better compatibility with other apps and Instagram.

Mr Zuckerberg also reiterated his focus on the metaverse and augmented reality, another key focus for the company that has led to some criticism from those who claim it has failed to live up to its potential. That technology, alongside artificial intelligence, remains the company’s long-term focus, he said.

Generative artificial intelligence will get more important in the future, Mr Zuckerberg said. But he pointed to existing AI features that power the feeds inside Meta’s apps, for instance.