Meta Platforms will open its Threads social network to almost all advertisers globally, creating a new line of revenue for the company by giving brands access to users across 30 markets, including the US.

Threads, which Meta launched in mid-2023 as a clone of Elon Musk’s Twitter, first began showing ads from a small number of brands this January as part of a pilot programme limited to the US and Japan. At the time, Adam Mosseri, who helms both Instagram and Threads, described the effort as a test before the company broadened the offering.

Threads has more than 320 million monthly users, and has been adding more than a million signups per day, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post in late January.

It has benefited from its ad-free experience and close ties to Instagram. Users of the latter photo-centric app are regularly shown Threads posts as suggestions in their timeline and can log into the Threads app with their existing Instagram credentials.

The expansion comes in advance of Meta’s first-quarter earnings report, set for 30 April. Wall Street will be closely watching the performance of Meta’s ad business amid market volatility spurred by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which have disrupted global trade and sent technology stocks spiralling.