Threads unveils Communities to take on X

Meta is doubling down on its X-rival Threads with the launch of Communities, a new feature designed to give users dedicated spaces for conversations around shared interests. With over 400 million monthly active users, Threads is now introducing more than 100 communities spanning topics such as basketball, books, K-pop, and television.

The communities on Threads are selected by Meta itself, as opposed to X, where users establish and moderate the communities.  Every club has its own "Like" emoji, such as a ball for basketball fans or a stack of books for literature lovers, which helps members feel more connected to one another.

Communities also appear directly on user profiles, making their interests visible to others. While community posts can show up in the For You and Following feeds, only members get access to the exclusive emoji reactions and upcoming perks like profile badges for active contributors.

Meta says it will test enhanced ranking systems to surface the best community posts, aiming to replicate how early Twitter formalized user-driven behaviors like hashtags and retweets. Actually, this feature was made possible by Threads' Topic Tags, which are already well-liked by users. This shows that Meta is observing user preferences rather than enforcing whole new frameworks.

By weaving communities into the core Threads experience, Meta is hoping to accelerate adoption and engagement. Early indicators suggest the platform is narrowing its gap with X on daily mobile usage, and the new feature could further shift the balance. For now, Threads is starting with its most active interest categories but plans to roll out more communities over time.