Threads rolls out Live Chats
- Meta's Threads is launching 'Live Chats' as synchronous conversation spaces for cultural moments like the NBA playoffs. - The feature will debut during major events, starting with live sports coverage. - Social platforms are steering audio and podcast attention toward event‑driven, real‑time participation models. (androidcentral.com)
Meta has started rolling out Live Chats on Threads, a new feature for real-time group conversations during live events. (about.fb.com) The first launch is tied to the National Basketball Association playoffs inside the NBAThreads community, where hosts including Malika Andrews and Rachel Nichols will run chats during games. Meta announced the feature on April 22, 2026. (techcrunch.com) Live Chats let people send text, photos, videos, links and emoji reactions. Up to 150 people can post at once; after that, additional users can still watch, react and vote in polls in spectator mode. (engadget.com) Meta is placing the feature inside Threads communities, the topic-based spaces it added in 2025, and surfacing chats at the top of a community feed, through shared posts, or with a red ring around a host’s profile photo. Chats stay viewable after the live session ends. (engadget.com) The product fills a gap Threads has had since its 2023 launch: people could post about breaking events, but the app had fewer tools for following a single live moment as it unfolded. TechCrunch reported that Meta described the goal as making Threads feel more timely and relevant. (techcrunch.com) That push comes as Threads has grown from 350 million monthly active users in Meta’s April 30, 2025 earnings update to 150 million daily active users by Meta’s October 29, 2025 earnings call. Meta has used that growth to add more event and discovery features, including communities and a redesigned web app. (techcrunch.com) (s21.q4cdn.com) (engadget.com) Meta said Live Chats will expand to more communities over the coming months, and Engadget reported the company is also planning co-hosting, lock-screen widgets, and tools to quote or share chat messages into the main feed. (about.fb.com) (engadget.com) For now, Meta is starting with sports, where games already create fixed start times, built-in audiences and repeat hosts. Live Chats give Threads a way to keep those conversations inside its own app instead of sending users elsewhere for the second screen. (about.fb.com) (techcrunch.com)
