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Threads was built in 6 months, by (supposedly) a team of fewer than 20 employees, and after it's first week had 100 million users—making it the fastest growing app ever.
It's unsurprisingly really. Meta have a track record for shipping, scaling and monetising products to billions of users.
They seem to have a playbook for cloning popular social features, with both Stories and Reels being more successful than Snapchat and TikTok, respectively.
In an attempt to reverse-engineer this secret Meta-sauce, I recorded and analysed the product as it evolved over it's first two weeks.
In this study, you'll see exactly why their launch strategy was so effective, and the UX theory behind the experiments that they've been running.
There's plenty to take inspiration from, so let's dive right in.
💡 Slideshow tip: you can use the keyboard to navigate on web.

A behind the scenes look at how I redesigned the Built for Mars sign-up flow, and iterated from early feedback.
The two "obvious" fixes that did nothing
Why you shouldn't always force an input
Why limiting the user's choices can be beneficial
Hinge built its reputation on a single promise: it's the dating app that wants you to leave. This is a breakdown of how the interface is actually engineered to make sure you don't.
How dating apps keep you engaged (not romantically)
The design equivalent of clickbait headlines
How Hinge leverages social scarcity
The challenge for a navigation app isn't to efficiently show you the best route, it's to make you believe that you've found the best route.
How strategy influences design
Waze is cornered, and slowly shrinking
What Apple's strategy appears to be

From rat mazes to coffee apps: why the motivation to reach a reward increases the closer your users get to their goal.
How to use the Goal Gradient Effect
Spinning the flywheel of purchases
Why your rules need to be clear
Sometimes, the best onboarding is no onboarding, and simple products get bogged down with unnecessary explanations. This case study on Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda demonstrates when to just let the user try it for themselves.
Sometimes the best onboarding, is no onboarding
“Show, don’t tell” often beats education
Data can’t always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzo’s 1p challenge, focusing on the middle slump, where progress slows and motivation quietly fades.
Delight can replace progress, but only temporarily
"The middle" is the real retention problem
Motivation needs contextualised reference points
Threads was built in 6 months, by (supposedly) a team of fewer than 20 employees, and after it's first week had 100 million users—making it the fastest growing app ever.
It's unsurprisingly really. Meta have a track record for shipping, scaling and monetising products to billions of users.
They seem to have a playbook for cloning popular social features, with both Stories and Reels being more successful than Snapchat and TikTok, respectively.
In an attempt to reverse-engineer this secret Meta-sauce, I recorded and analysed the product as it evolved over it's first two weeks.
In this study, you'll see exactly why their launch strategy was so effective, and the UX theory behind the experiments that they've been running.
There's plenty to take inspiration from, so let's dive right in.
💡 Slideshow tip: you can use the keyboard to navigate on web.

A behind the scenes look at how I redesigned the Built for Mars sign-up flow, and iterated from early feedback.
The two "obvious" fixes that did nothing
Why you shouldn't always force an input
Why limiting the user's choices can be beneficial
Hinge built its reputation on a single promise: it's the dating app that wants you to leave. This is a breakdown of how the interface is actually engineered to make sure you don't.
How dating apps keep you engaged (not romantically)
The design equivalent of clickbait headlines
How Hinge leverages social scarcity
The challenge for a navigation app isn't to efficiently show you the best route, it's to make you believe that you've found the best route.
How strategy influences design
Waze is cornered, and slowly shrinking
What Apple's strategy appears to be

From rat mazes to coffee apps: why the motivation to reach a reward increases the closer your users get to their goal.
How to use the Goal Gradient Effect
Spinning the flywheel of purchases
Why your rules need to be clear
Sometimes, the best onboarding is no onboarding, and simple products get bogged down with unnecessary explanations. This case study on Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda demonstrates when to just let the user try it for themselves.
Sometimes the best onboarding, is no onboarding
“Show, don’t tell” often beats education
Data can’t always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzo’s 1p challenge, focusing on the middle slump, where progress slows and motivation quietly fades.
Delight can replace progress, but only temporarily
"The middle" is the real retention problem
Motivation needs contextualised reference points