Threads could soon launch in Europe, but there may be a catch

Threads got off to an incredible start, clocking in 100 million users in just five days of its launch, setting the bar very high for other popular apps to beat. But the steam soon fizzled out as users quickly realized that it couldn’t compete with Twitter as it lacked a fair few features. Meta has been adding several of those features over the months, and it could soon fix the app’s biggest annoyance yet: not being available in Europe.

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Meta plans to launch Threads in Europe sometime this month. This would be the most significant market expansion for the platform since its launch.

The European Union has some of the strictest pro-consumer regulations in the world, and it places good scrutiny on apps and services, especially those around social media. At launch, Threads lacked a fair few basic features, such as allowing users to delete their Threads account without needing to delete their Instagram account. These features have been added to the app since then.

The report suggests that Meta would give EU users the choice of using the platform without a profile, purely for consumption, which would address many other regulatory concerns. However, it isn’t immediately clear from the report if this would be the only way EU users could use the platform.

The report suggests that the expansion into the EU could add over 40 million additional monthly users for Threads in 2024. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned in October that Threads had “just under 100 million monthly active” users. He believes that Threads has the potential to reach a billion users in a few years, which is an ambitious target.

It is currently unknown when in December Threads will launch in the EU, as Meta has not made any official announcements yet. We’ll have to see what additional restrictions are present for users in the EU compared to the rest of the world and whether they would be allowed to participate on the platform.