Meta Teases December 14 Launch for Threads in Europe

Threads, the Twitter/X clone developed by the Instagram team may launch in Europe on December 14. For users in Europe, the Threads website (via The Verge) currently shows a live countdown with 5 days and 16 hours remaining as of this writing.

Meta launched Threads in 100 countries back in July, and the app crossed 100 million registered users in just five days. In October, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that Threads had “just under 100 million monthly active users,” and the app will certainly benefit from a curiosity effect once it officially launches in Europe.

While Threads posts are already visible on the web for EU users, it’s currently not possible for them to create an account or download the official mobile apps. To comply with local regulations for online services, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Threads should give EU users the ability to browse the platform without having to create a profile.

Currently, creating a profile on Threads requires users to sign in with an Instagram account. Until recently, users couldn’t delete their Threads profile without deleting their Instagram account along the way, but this finally changed in November.

While many people may not be willing to add another Meta service to their lives, Threads appears to be one the most credible alternatives to Twitter/X as of today. The app is getting new features at a regular pace, and it also benefits from requiring an Instagram account, a platform that has over a billion monthly active users. Mastodon, Bluesky, and other Twitter alternatives can’t take advantage of a similar network effect to grow their user base.