Meta plans to start rolling out ads on its social platform Threads early next year, according to The Information. People familiar with Meta’s plans say that the rollout will be slow, with a small group of advertisers able to make and publish ads beginning in January. However, it’s uncertain if this rollout will expand beyond the initial group of advertisers anytime soon.

No monetization features on Threads yet

Currently, Meta has no revenue generation on Threads. Meta spokesperson, Matthew Tye recently confirmed, "Since our priority is to build consumer value first and foremost, there are no ads or monetization features currently on Threads,” per The Verge. 

CFO Susan Li added during Meta’s recent earnings call that they don’t expect Threads to contribute to revenue soon. “We don’t expect Threads to be a meaningful driver of 2025 revenue at this time. We’ve been pleased with the growth trajectory, and again, we’re really focused on introducing features that the community finds valuable and working to deepen growth and engagement,” Li said.

Hints of advertising on Threads

In August, developers discovered references to potential ad products within Threads’ code, including a "Sponsored" label. This suggests Meta might be exploring ads for the platform. However, Meta said it wasn’t actively testing ads on the platform. “We’re not testing ads in Threads at this time, and there is no immediate timeline for monetization,” Instagram spokesperson Alec Booker confirmed.

In September, it was reported that some advertisers were seeing ad placements labeled as “Threads,” but Meta did not confirm any official ad rollout or update.

Threads’ growth and monetization goals

Threads was launched by Meta in July 2023 as a competitor to Elon Musk’s platform X. Last year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that monetization plans would be considered when the platform hit 1 billion active users. “Our approach will be the same as all our other products: make the product work well first, then see if we can get it on a clear path to 1 billion people, and only then think about monetization at that point,” Zuckerberg said.

Threads has experienced steady user growth, with active users reaching 200 million in May 2024, an increase of 25 million from the previous month. Zuckerberg highlighted this growth as a sign of Threads’ potential to become Meta’s next billion-user service. However, he said that turning Threads into a profitable business will be a long-term effort.

The platform hit 275 million monthly active users In October, showing continued growth. As Meta’s largest source of revenue is advertising, it’s expected that ads will eventually be a key part of the platform’s monetization strategy. 

Instagram Head, Adam Mosseri had previously confirmed in April that Meta plans to introduce ads to Threads. “I get why people have concerns, but at the end of the day we’re a business and Threads needs to make enough money to pay for the people and servers that it takes to run the service and provide it to people for free,” Mosseri explained.

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Nelson Oboh
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