Threads
How the Threads algorithm works, and how replies help you grow
What Meta says the Threads algorithm predicts, why replies get almost half of all views, what lowers your reach, and how to grow on Threads with replies.
Short answer: Threads ranks your For You feed with an AI system that predicts what you’ll do with each post: like it, reply to it, click it, open the author’s profile, or scroll past, and how long you’ll look at it. Posts it expects you to value more go higher. Meta says replies get almost half of all views on Threads, and Adam Mosseri, who runs Threads, tells people to reply much more than they post. Unoriginal posts, clickbait and engagement bait reach fewer people, and since 2026 you can steer your own feed with Dear Algo and Your Algo.
What Meta says the Threads algorithm predicts
Meta publishes a short explainer for the Threads feed, which it calls a system card. It describes four steps: gather the posts you could see, read the signals about you and each post, predict what you’ll do, and rank.
Content that the system predicts will provide more value for you is shown higher in your feed.
The card lists what the system predicts for every post:
- whether you’ll like it, or click it and then like it
- whether you’ll reply to it
- whether you’ll click it, or open the author’s profile, and then keep going
- whether you’ll scroll past without doing anything
- how long you’ll spend on the post, and on its own page
The signals behind those guesses include what you liked in the last 15 minutes, how often you like posts from an author, and how much people engage with the replies under a post. The card looks back anywhere from 15 minutes to 84 days. It was last updated on March 7, 2025.
Replies get almost half the views
Meta shared a number in October 2024 that explains why replying works on Threads:
We’ve found that replies account for almost half of the views on Threads, so try joining a conversation to reach more people.
Adam Mosseri said the same thing a few months earlier, in an interview about Threads’ first year:
you should reply much more than you post
In the same interview he said the replies you write add up to about as much value as your posts, and that Threads was built so a reply counts as much as the post it answers.
What lowers your reach on Threads
Meta’s guide for creators on Threads names what holds a post back:
Certain things can limit your distribution, such as sharing non-recommendable or unoriginal content.
Non-recommendable includes clickbait, engagement bait, and posts that promote a contest or a giveaway. When people hide a post or report it, the system also shows them less of what looks like it.
Mosseri has said replies aren’t all equal. In October 2024, after a wave of rage bait, he wrote that “not all comments or replies are good”, and Meta said it was working to get engagement bait under control (MediaPost, October 7, 2024). A month later he said Threads was rebalancing ranking toward the people you follow, so creators would see less reach from strangers and more from their followers. Source: Social Media Today, November 21, 2024.
Topics, Communities and your own controls
- Topic tags (2025). A post can carry a topic, like a hashtag. Meta says tagged posts generally get more views.
- Communities (October 2025). Public spaces for a topic, built on topic tags, with more than 100 topics at launch. They left beta in June 2026.
- Dear Algo (February 11, 2026). Write “Dear Algo” in a public post, followed by what you want more or less of, and Threads adjusts your feed for three days.
- Your Algo (June 16, 2026). The same, kept private, for one, three or seven days.
Sources: Meta, Dear Algo and Meta, new features for 500 million monthly users.
How to grow on Threads with replies
- Reply much more than you post. Mosseri’s advice, and the reason replies collect half the views.
- Reply where your topic lives. Communities and topic tags gather the people who care about the same things you do.
- Answer the people who reply to you. Meta says posts that drive conversations are more likely to be recommended.
- Post two to five times a week. Meta’s own number for creators, with posts written for Threads.
- Skip the bait. Clickbait, engagement bait and reposted content reach fewer people.
What Meta hasn’t said
- How replies are ordered under a post. Meta publishes no system card for Threads replies.
- Anything about reply length, or a magic number of words. Those claims come from blogs.
- A change to how replies rank in 2026. Meta’s 2026 changes so far are Dear Algo, Your Algo and Communities.
Twick drafts replies in your voice under any post on threads.com, with 100% no AI slop, and you post the one you like yourself. See it on the Threads reply generator.
Questions
How does the Threads algorithm work?
It predicts what you’ll do with each post, such as like it, reply, click it or scroll past, and how long you’ll look, then shows higher the posts it expects you to value most.
Do replies help you grow on Threads?
Yes. Meta says replies account for almost half of the views on Threads, and Mosseri says to reply much more than you post.
How often should you post on Threads?
Meta recommends at least two to five times a week, with posts made for Threads.
What is Dear Algo on Threads?
A public post that starts with “Dear Algo” and says what you want to see more or less of. Threads adjusts your feed for three days. Your Algo does the same in private.
How many people use Threads?
Meta said Threads reached 500 million monthly users in June 2026.