Threads empowers its communities with over 200 themes and new badges for top members

Threads is making a major shift towards thematic communities as the central axis of its growth. Meta's social network, conceived as an alternative to X (formerly Twitter) and complementary to Instagram, is reinforcing the spaces where users group together based on specific interestsFrom basketball to books or K-pop, with new features designed to increase participation and the sense of belonging.

This move comes at a time when the battle for online communities intensifies, with Reddit and X as clear references in the field of public conversations. Threads seeks to position itself as a meeting point where not only are individual messages published, but stable groups are built around hobbies, professional sectors or very specific topics, something especially relevant for users and creators in Spain and the rest of Europe.

More than 200 communities for all tastes

Meta launched the Threads communities Initially, there were just over 100 groups in October, based on how users themselves organized and tagged their conversations within the app. Among those first spaces were communities like AI Threads, F1 Threads, Kpop Threads, Design Threads or TV Threadswhich functioned as informal meeting points to talk about technology, cars, music or TV series.

Following that initial phase, the company has decided to significantly expand its catalog, and There are now over 200 official communitiesThe goal is to offer greater granularity so that people don't just stay on general topics, but can join very specific groups based on their actual interests. This means, for example, that NBA fans not only have a generic community about the league, but also specific communities such as Lakers Threads, Knicks Threads or Spurs Threads.

Besides sports, The new communities encompass areas such as books, television, K-pop, music, and other hobbies.In the publishing field, for example, there are spaces like "Books Threads" where readings, authors or favorite genres are discussed, something that can be attractive to readers and creators of literary content in Spanish who are looking for more visibility and segmented conversation.

This expansion of themes also implies a aiming to compete more directly with Reddit and Xwhere subreddits and themed lists or communities have been functioning as major discussion hubs for years. Threads thus attempts to offer a similar experience, but integrated into the Meta ecosystem and connected to Instagram's user base.

Champion badges and style labels: recognition within each group

Along with expanding the number of groups, Meta is testing new tools for Recognize the most active members and give them more visibility.One of the main new features is the "Champion" badge within the communities. This label is awarded to a small number of users who stand out for their consistent participation and for keeping the conversations alive.

According to what has been reported, the The Champion badge will focus on profiles that combine high engagement and regular activity. in discussions within a specific group. The idea is that these users act as drivers of the community, helping to keep it active and generating content that encourages others to join the conversation.

Another feature under testing is the so-called "flairs" or style tagsThese tags, which appear below the username within each community, allow users to quickly indicate their role or preferences in that specific context. For example, in an NBA community, users can indicate which team they support, and in a book community, they can specify whether they are a reader, author, or prefer a particular genre.

Meta explains that The champions of each community could have the ability to define different style optionsso that members can choose the one that best fits their profile. That label would be displayed on all posts they make within the group, making it easy to quickly identify affinities or points of reference in discussions.

This badge and label system, already successfully tested on other platforms, aims to Strengthen identity within each community and reward value contributionThis can help users stay in the app longer and participate more frequently.

A fast-growing network that's taking on X and Reddit head-on

Threads was born as a An app linked to Instagram, but with a microblogging dynamic similar to X.Since its launch, registration has been done using the Instagram account, which speeds up the sign-up process and allows importing some of the profile information, as well as replicate, if desired, the same list of people that are followed.

In its first few hours of life, the application It surpassed 30 million registrations in about 15 hoursThis marked an unusual start for the sector. Since then, growth has continued, and according to data shared by the company itself, Threads has surpassed 400 million registered users within approximately two years of its launch.

Regarding daily usage, internal figures indicate that More than 150 million people access the platform every day.These figures position Threads as one of the relevant players in the field of public conversations on social networks, where it competes with Elon Musk's X and with younger projects like Bluesky.

To retain this user base, Meta has been adding various improvements, including direct messages, group chats, and ephemeral postsIn addition to the existing communities and the new badges currently being tested, the aim is to create an experience that goes beyond simply posting individual messages, offering more layers of interaction and additional reasons to return to the app.

In Europe and Spain, the evolution of these community functions is particularly striking for content creators, media outlets and brands who are used to working with communities on Telegram, Discord or Reddit, and who now see Threads as another possible channel to centralize part of their audience, with the added advantage of the direct bridge to Instagram.

What do Threads communities mean for users, creators, and brands?

For regular users, the expansion of communities and the introduction of badges and tags means a change in the way of moving within the networkInstead of relying solely on a chronological or algorithmic feed, participation in specific spaces where content is much more filtered by interest is gaining importance.

For creators and influencers, these new developments open up an additional avenue of visibility beyond the simple number of followersBeing recognized as a Champion in a community or having a relevant role in a themed group can translate into greater reach and better positioning within the niche where your target audience is concentrated.

In the case of European projects, startups, or small brands operating in very specific sectors, Threads communities offer a opportunity to build vertical audiences without having to start from scratch on external platforms. They can, for example, integrate into existing communities related to their industry or promote the creation of new groups aligned with their proposal.

The dynamics of flairs and badges can also be useful for differentiate roles within these spacesFrom technical experts and spokespeople to highly active fans and loyal customers, this type of structure, if managed well, helps to organize conversations and give more weight to those who contribute consistently.

On the other hand, the fact that Meta is experimenting with additional classification and moderation tools It suggests that, later on, there could be more elaborate reputation systems, leaderboards, or ways to highlight particularly relevant content within each community.

Towards a more defined identity and thematic debates in Threads

These updates together suggest that Threads clearly leans towards discussion based on identity and interestsMoving away from the simple timeline logic where you consume what the algorithm decides. Communities, badges, and style tags follow this approach. reinforce who each user is within a specific group.

This approach is reminiscent, in part, of the model of subreddits on Reddit or to classic thematic forums, with the difference that Here it is integrated into an application focused on short texts and quick conversationsbut with very clear anchors by theme.

For audiences in Spain and Europe accustomed to navigating Telegram groups, Discord channels, and subreddits, Threads' proposal may seem familiar, although it is still under development. Trial features are not available to everyoneThis means that community behavior may change significantly as these tools are released to a wider user base.

Ultimately, what's at stake is the platform's ability to to promote quality debates as opposed to mere passive consumptionIf Champion badges and flairs are used to highlight useful contributions and not just popularity, communities are likely to become reference spaces for learning and discussing specific topics.

In this context, Meta's strategy with Threads draws a scenario where communities become the core of the experienceThese features are supported by recognition, moderation, and search capabilities that allow users to find relevant conversations without endless scrolling. How these dynamics take hold and how well they are received by European users will largely determine the platform's future.