Instagram’s Threads was expanding the search feature to “most” English and Spanish-speaking countries.
The move followed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg‘s announcement that the app was testing the feature in Australia and New Zealand.
The expansion will encompass countries where English and Spanish are commonly used, including Argentina, India, Mexico, the UK, and the US.
Initially, Threads, Meta’s rival to Twitter (now named X), had a basic search feature that only identified Threads users, not their content.
However, this changed with the recent introduction of a full-text search feature, enabling users to search for keywords and topics being discussed on the platform, not just other users.
The company acknowledged it was actively listening to user feedback and planning to enhance the search experience further.
This swift expansion of Threads’ search to additional markets is part of Instagram’s broader strategy to boost engagement on its platform.
Threads had a strong start, becoming the fastest app to reach 100 million users due to its seamless integration with Instagram, facilitating users to quickly establish followers and connections.
However, since its July launch, Threads witnessed a decline in user activity. In August, mobile intelligence firm Sensor Tower reported an 82% drop in daily active users since the launch, with only 8 million users accessing the app daily.
To counter this decline, Threads swiftly introduced requested features such as search and a fully functional web app.
The web app’s launch had a minimal impact on increasing platform usage, as data from digital intelligence firm Similarweb revealed a mere 3% increase in global traffic.
