Meta Platforms’ X rival Threads booked more than 175 million monthly active users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced, hitting the milestone just before it marks a year in operation.

The numbers were revealed by Zuckerberg on his Threads account. The text-based microblogging site was launched in July 2023 in an apparent bid to challenge Elon Musk-owned X, with Meta’s chief product officer Chris Cox stating the company aimed to design a conversational app that was “sanely run”.

Zuckerberg has also promoted Threads as a “friendly” alternative to X. However, unlike its rival, Threads does not currently generate revenue from advertising for Meta.

Threads garnered 10 million users in the first seven hours of its launch, though there was a significant drop-off with half of its 100 million users leaving the platform in the following weeks.

At the time, Zuckerberg noted Meta Platforms was working on “retention strategies” and claimed the plunge in active users was “natural”.

Meta Platforms has since introduced a desktop version of the platform and new content-sharing features.