After several developers and reverse engineers found references to ad products in the app’s code, including the word “ads” itself, as well as references to sponsored items and ad configuration, Instagram announced that it is not testing advertisements in Threads and has no imminent intentions to monetise.
Additionally, a JSON file used by developers—possibly for testing—was seen in the Threads mobile app in public.
Alessandro Paluzzi, a developer who discovered these facts, also managed to make a post look to be sponsored, which he then shared on X. An example of a “Sponsored” label appearing next to a user’s Threads username is seen in the post.
A sample ad unit that was in development was referenced in a JSON file called “bcn_single_image_ad,” which Chris Messina, a seasoned tech expert, discovered in the Threads app.
These results suggest that Threads engineers are looking into ad technologies, although contrary to popular belief, Threads is not planning to release advertisements very soon. For instance, while Paluzzi only stated that Threads was “getting ready to bring ads to the app,” Messina highlighted the company’s recent release of creator insights as a first step toward introducing advertisements.
But Meta played down the importance of testing advertisements. When contacted about the findings of the developers, Instagram spokesperson Alec Booker told TechCrunch, “We’re not testing ads in Threads at this time, and there is no immediate timeline for monetization.”
The CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, hinted that advertisements on Threads were not yet planned in his message to investors last quarter, explaining that “there’s a multiyear time horizon between scaling [new products] and then scaling them into not just consumer experiences but very large businesses.” This statement is consistent with other statements made by Meta.
