Meta is expanding how Threads connects to Instagram with a new feature that lets users share Threads posts to their Instagram Stories without leaving the app, a change aimed at using Instagram’s larger audience to bring more people to Meta’s text-focused platform.
New Sharing Feature Inside Threads
The company announced on Thursday that users can now share a Threads post directly to their Instagram Story from within the Threads app. The feature shows a preview of how the post will appear on a Story before it is published, removing the need to switch between apps.
Threads already allowed users to share posts to Instagram Stories in a similar way to resharing Instagram content, and it also offered options to share posts to the Instagram Feed or through direct messages. The new update changes the flow by keeping the entire process inside Threads.
How Meta Has Used Instagram To Grow Threads
Threads launched in July 2023 as a text-first app with a layout similar to X. From the start, Meta used Instagram’s existing user base to accelerate adoption. Signing up required Instagram credentials, which let Threads carry over account details such as username, bio, profile photo, verification status, and follower lists.
With a single tap, users could follow the same accounts they already followed on Instagram. Accounts that were not yet on Threads received notifications when someone they knew joined, which helped the app fill out its social graph quickly.
Ongoing Cross-Platform Promotion
After launch, Meta continued to rely on its larger platforms to increase visibility for Threads. The company displayed popular Threads posts on Facebook and added a carousel of Threads posts inside Instagram. Meta also made it simple for users to cross-post from Instagram and Facebook to Threads, which supported further growth.
The new Story-sharing feature fits into that same pattern by reducing friction between the apps and making Threads posts easier to surface inside Instagram.
Usage And Growth Numbers
These efforts have coincided with steady growth in usage. Data from market intelligence firm Similarweb last month showed that Threads now sees more daily use than Elon Musk’s X on mobile devices, while X continues to lead on the web.
Threads’ overall audience has also expanded over time. The app grew from 200 million monthly active users in August 2024 to 400 million monthly users by August 2025. Meta said in October that Threads had reached 150 million daily active users.
Featured image credits: Syllaby
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