Meta Blocks Access to its Threads App to EU Users with VPNs

Threads, Meta’s Twitter clone launched to great fanfare last week, crossing 100 million users in just five days. And this happened without Threads officially launching in the EU due to privacy concerns.

Until now, EU users have been able to various use workarounds to get the Threads app on iOS and Android and sign up. For Android users, the APK file to install the Threads app is quite easy to find, while iOS users can create a US-based App Store account to download the app.

Something happened earlier today, though. Threads users in the EU started to notice that the app was no longer working as usual, even when using a VPN. And Meta has now confirmed to TechCrunch that it has taken new measures to block Threads in the EU.

“Threads is not currently available in most countries in Europe and we’ve taken additional steps to prevent people based there from accessing it at this time. Europe continues to be an incredibly important market for Meta and we hope to make Threads available here in the future,” Meta said in a statement.

As of this writing, it appears that EU users can still access their Threads newsfeed. However, users are seeing a “post failed to upload” message when they try to create a new thread. Moreover, checking messages on any profile displays a “content not available message.”

Despite some genuine enthusiasm during its launch week, it appears that Threads is already losing some steam in its second week. According to data from Sensor Tower (via CNBC), Threads saw its number of daily users go down 20% since Saturday, and user time spent on the platform is also down 50%.