Meta's Threads to test direct messaging feature in select markets
Meta Platforms said it would start rolling out direct messaging on its Threads app, adding a feature long offered by rivals, in a bid to attract more users.
Users in select markets, including Hong Kong and Thailand, will get a dedicated inbox for direct messages on the app as part of the test, eliminating the need to switch to Instagram's messaging platform, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday.
Meta said messages on Threads will not be encrypted for now.
Threads and Instagram have long been intertwined as part of Meta's plans to leverage the image and video sharing platform's massive user base to better compete with services such as X, TikTok and Reddit for digital ad dollars.
Launched in 2023 as a competitor to Elon Musk's X, then known as Twitter, following his chaotic takeover of the platform, Threads quickly attracted consumers and now boasts over 350 million monthly active users.
Meta announced the expansion of advertising on Threads to all eligible advertisers globally in April. However, the company has said it did not expect Threads to be a "meaningful driver" of revenue growth in 2025.
Research firm Emarketer expects Threads' U.S. monthly active users will grow 17.5 per cent to 60.5 million by next year, surpassing X, whose user base is expected to decline 14.4 per cent to 50 million.
U.S. trade restrictions and the rise of AI‑powered ad targeting have pushed social media platforms to enhance their offerings, adding distinctive features and sharper user experiences to stand out in a saturated market.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
19 minutes ago
- CNA
Adobe raises annual forecasts on steady adoption of AI-powered tools
Adobe raised its full-year results forecast on Thursday, helped by continued demand for its AI-powered software tools that generate images and video content. The company, an industry veteran in the creative software market, is known for its flagship products, such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro, which have become essential tools for professionals worldwide. Despite a weak first quarter marked by budget constraints and project delays amid macroeconomic uncertainties, Jefferies analysts said demand seemed to start recovering in the second quarter as clients resumed stalled projects and adjusted to the changing environment, supporting ongoing growth targets. Adobe expects revenue to be between $23.50 billion and $23.60 billion in fiscal 2025, compared with its prior range of $23.30 billion to $23.55 billion. Excluding items, it raised its full-year profit to between $20.50 and $20.70 per share, from its prior range of $20.20 to $20.50 each. "We continue to invest in AI innovation across our customer groups to enhance value realization and expand the universe of customers we serve," finance chief Dan Durn said. In 2023, Adobe launched Firefly, which enables users to create, edit and enhance images and videos from simple text prompts. Powered by ethically sourced training from exclusively licensed or public domain images, Adobe Firefly expands the company's AI-driven creative tools, enabling users to accelerate ideation and content creation while ensuring brand safety and copyright compliance. Adobe said in April it was integrating image-generation AI models from OpenAI and Google into its Firefly app. Revenue for the second quarter stood at $5.87 billion, above the analysts' average estimate of $5.79 billion.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Coinbase to launch CFTC-compliant perpetual futures trading in US
Coinbase plans to launch perpetual futures trading in the United States, with the offering set to comply with regulatory standards outlined by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a top executive at the crypto exchange said on Thursday. With crypto markets buoyed by hopes of lighter regulation and a renewed risk appetite, exchanges are racing to capitalize on the frenzy by rolling out complex products that were once used primarily by seasoned traders. "We recently launched first-of-its-kind 24/7 futures trading, and I'm excited to share that we'll soon be launching CFTC-compliant perpetual futures trading in the U.S. as well," Max Branzburg, Coinbase's vice-president of product, said at the State of Crypto Summit in New York. Perpetual futures are crypto derivatives that allow traders to bet on token prices without an expiry date and offer round-the-clock access and high leverage, making them a popular choice in fast-moving markets. Investors and traders typically use derivatives to hedge risk, amplify returns, or speculate on price movements without owning the underlying asset.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Google Cloud outage hits platforms including Spotify, Discord
Multiple platforms including music streaming service Spotify and instant messaging platform Discord were down for tens of thousands of users on Thursday after an outage at Alphabet's Google Cloud . Google Cloud said on its status page that multiple products were experiencing varying levels of service impact. "Our engineers are continuing to mitigate the issue and we have confirmation that the issue is recovered in some locations," Google Cloud said. It added that it could not say when the issue would be fully resolved. There were more than 10,000 incidents of people reporting problems with Google Cloud and more than 44,000 reports on Spotify around 2:46 p.m. ET in the U.S., according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources. Users in the U.S. also reported more than 4,000 incidents each with Google Meet and Google search engine, while there were more than 8,000 reports on messaging platform Discord.
