Meta Platforms Inc.’s META social media platform Threads is reportedly exploring the integration of advertisements to generate revenue. However, the company has stated that it is not currently testing ads in Threads and has no immediate plans for monetization.
What Happened: Earlier this week, developers Alessandro Paluzzi and Chris Messina discovered a JSON file in the public-facing Threads mobile app, which they believe was used for testing.
Paluzzi managed to force a post to appear as a sponsored one, while Messina found a JSON file titled “bcn_single_image_ad,” indicating a sample ad unit under development.
Despite these findings, Instagram spokesperson Alec Booker told TechCrunch, “We’re not testing ads in Threads at this time, and there is no immediate timeline for monetization.”
This statement aligns with previous comments from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has highlighted a multiyear time horizon for scaling new products into large businesses, the report noted.
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Why It Matters: Threads, launched just over a year ago, is Meta’s attempt to compete with Elon Musk’s Twitter, now rebranded as X.
The app currently has 200 million monthly active users, with Zuckerberg predicting it could reach 1 billion users in a few years.
The social media platform has also been working on improving user privacy.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Threads is developing a feature that would allow posts and their replies to disappear after 24 hours, making it more appealing to users concerned about the permanence of their online content.
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