Meta Expands Threads Advertising Globally

Meta has announced the full global rollout of advertising on Threads, its text-based social platform, with ads set to appear for users in all markets starting the week of January 26, 2026. The expansion will occur gradually over the coming months, beginning with limited delivery to ensure broad availability. This follows earlier phases: initial testing began in January 2025 in select markets like the U.S. and Japan when Threads had around 300 million users.

In April 2025, Meta opened ads to eligible advertisers worldwide. Subsequent updates in September 2025 introduced carousel, catalog, and expanded image formats, progressively inviting more brands to include Threads placements in their campaigns. Ads integrate natively into the Threads feed using familiar formats such as images, videos, and carousels. For advertisers, they extend existing Meta campaigns automatically through Advantage+ or manual setups, allowing seamless reach across Meta’s family of apps without requiring separate creative development. Meta describes this as a straightforward extension that helps brands connect with audiences in more locations.

The move aligns with Threads’ growth trajectory. Meta reports the platform has over 400 million monthly active users (as of late 2025 figures), with 150 million daily actives cited in October 2025. Independent data from Similarweb indicates stronger momentum on mobile: as of early January 2026, Threads reached approximately 141.5 million daily active users on iOS and Android globally, surpassing X’s estimated 125 million mobile daily actives.

While X maintains a lead in web traffic and certain regional markets like the U.S., Threads’ mobile gains reflect sustained increases driven by cross-promotion from Instagram and Facebook, creator-focused features, and additions like communities, DMs, long-form posts, and reply filters.