Meta plans to launch advertising on its Threads app in early 2025, according to a report from The Information citing three people with direct knowledge of the plans.

The initiative, led by Instagram’s advertising division, will begin in January with a select group of advertisers being granted access to create and publish ads on the platform. 

Threads, launched in July 2023 as a challenger to X (formerly Twitter), has grown to 275 million monthly active users, according to Meta’s Q3 2024 earnings call.

Despite the planned advertising rollout, Meta CFO Susan Li tempered revenue expectations during the company’s October earnings call, stating that Threads is not expected to be “a meaningful driver of 2025 revenue.” Li indicated that the company’s priority remains to build consumer value, with plans to introduce additional features to the platform.

A Meta spokesperson maintained that the platform currently has “no ads or monetization features,” highlighting their focus on building consumer value “first and foremost.”

The timing of Meta’s advertising initiative coincides with ongoing challenges at competitor X, which has faced advertiser concerns since billionaire Elon Musk’s acquisition in 2022. 

According to Reuters, X’s monthly U.S. ad revenue has declined at least 55% year-over-year each month since Musk bought the company. The company recently filed a lawsuit against several major companies, including Mars and CVS Health, along with a global advertising alliance, alleging an unlawful conspiracy to boycott the platform.