“Ads on Threads,” has a nice ring to it. But it should not be the sole reason for Meta to bring Ads on Threads. So, how’s Meta bringing advertisement into one of its relatively new social media platforms? How will the ads look? Where will they place the ads? Are there any safety and control settings for users? Is it even necessary to bring ads into Threads? And how’s everyone reacting to it?
This article is going to explain in detail about ads and their arrival into Threads. So, let’s jump in.
Meta’s latest move is Ads on Threads
On January 25 2025, Meta shared a press release announcing limited and early tests of ads on Threads. After flooding Facebook and Instagram with ads, Meta’s ads on Threads was imminent. Because Threads is Meta’s one of the most rapidly growing social media platforms
On April 2024, Adam Mosseri, Instagram head shared that ads were on the horizon for Threads, with rumours suggesting they would launch in early 2025.
But users aren’t really happy with the news.
Mr. Mosseri shared on Friday that with the help of a few brands, Threads is testing for ads in the US and Japan. He also clearly mentioned that Threads is going to play with relevancy and interesting content (or ads?).
“During early testing, Ads on Threads feed will be image ads that appear between pieces of content in the Threads home feed for a small percentage of people,” Meta stated in a press release. With a pilot test, a select group of advertisers and two countries, Meta’s Threads is beginning its ads journey one year and six months after it was launched on 5 July 2023.
Personalized Ads on Threads to grow your business
Meta states, “People come to Meta for a personalized experience that helps them discover businesses and content they love—ads are an essential part of enabling this.” With Threads now boasting over 300 million monthly active users, Meta is banking on the platform’s rising momentum to create a personalized advertising experience because three out of four Threads users follow at least one business.
To deliver ads across their apps, Meta will closely monitor where users are spending most of their time to engage with content. They will also take the help of surveys to understand what ads people enjoy and deliver ads based on relevancy.
With ads coming into the platform, Meta has given choices to the users to customise and control preferences for Ads on Threads. Users can control ads by skipping, hiding or reporting them directly from the Threads feed.
Integration of ads on Threads and users’ reaction
Being a newly launched feature, Threads would be a relatively easy entry point for advertisers to move into Meta’s advertising network. As a business and advertiser, Threads would integrate with existing campaigns from Meta’s other platforms like Instagram and Facebook with minimal effort. By simply checking a box in Meta’s Ads Manager, brands can reach the Threads audience with creative content.
Even if the tech part of integrating ads gets done well, there will be feedback. Here’s how Mr. Mosseri explained in his threads post, “We know there will be plenty of feedback about how we should approach ads and we are making sure they feel like Threads posts you’d find relevant and interesting.”
On the flip side, many users have criticised the test for ads on Threads. Under Mr Mosseri’s threads post, a user named southertierguy slyly took a dig by commenting “Time for me to start looking somewhere”. A user named amusemybouche_, clearly unhappy with the move tried to enlighten Mr Mosseri by commenting “ya’ll realize the only reason this app has grown at all is because of the lack of ads right.” Another user threatened to quit Threads by commenting, “The first time I see an ad on here, I’m gone. Guaranteed.”
Commitment to brand safety
Meta is extending its brand safety and suitability standards to Threads as the new test rolls out ads begin to appear. They have also launched the test for inventory filters for Ads on Threads. The AI-powered inventory filter lets advertisers control how sensitive the content is next to their ads. This applies to Feed ads (like Facebook Feed, Facebook Reels, Instagram Feed and Instagram Reels) and In-content ads (like Facebook in-stream videos, Facebook Reels ads and Meta Audience Network). Meta has already built the inventory filter for for Feed ads, such as ads on Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Facebook Reels and Instagram Reels and are available in 34 languages. Meta has shared that in the coming months, they will give updates on language support and third-party verification solutions as well.
Meta also reaffirmed its adherence to its Monetization Policies, which dictate the type of content eligible to appear next to ads. Content violating Community Standards, for example, will not qualify for ad placement, which is also known as ad adjacency.
What’s next for Threads?
Ads on Threads is a significant milestone for Meta’s newest social platform. With personalization, integration and brand safety, Meta’s done setting the stage for Threads to become a powerful social and advertisement tool for businesses and users alike. Brands would market themselves while users would get acquainted with brands through ads appearing like content piece.
Ads on Threads will provide advertisers with new opportunities to engage with the audience. But will it be mutually beneficial for both users and businesses?
As the platform evolves, it will be interesting to see how Threads balances user experience with advertising ambitions and what this means for its future in the social media landscape.
