Threads has worked in most countries since Meta launched it in July 2023, but China, Iran and Russia have blocked it since that year. Meta itself kept it out of the EU until December 2023 and out of Turkey from 2024 to 2026.
Every day we open Threads from inside 24 countries, mostly over home broadband, and record
where it’s blocked, since when and how.
2 of 24tested countries with a confirmed block of Threads
Blocked in China and Russia. 24 of 24 results confirmed in the last 48 hours.
Blocked means the networks we test there failed to open www.threads.com, twice, while it opened elsewhere.
“Turned away by the site” means Threads itself refused visitors from that country.
* First observed on this date: the block may be older. Older results are excluded from current totals.
Background
Where Threads is restricted, and why
Meta launched Threads on 5 July 2023 in more than 100 countries, but not in the European Union: sources at Meta blamed EU rules, chiefly the Digital Markets Act’s provisions on sharing users’ data across services, and Meta was waiting for the European Commission to clarify them. That was Meta’s own choice, not a government block. Threads reached the EU on 14 December 2023, five months later, with an option to use it without a profile.
Meta also pulled Threads out of Turkey on 29 April 2024, to comply with an interim order from the Turkish Competition Authority that barred Threads from sharing data with Instagram. Meta said it disagreed with the order and would appeal; the order didn’t affect Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp. Threads returned to Turkey on 17 June 2026, and people there could reactivate their old accounts with their posts and followers.
Governments moved quickly against it. Iran blocked Threads the day after it launched, even though an account had already been set up for the country’s president, and a senior Russian lawmaker said it was “de facto blocked” because it is tied to Instagram’s accounts and servers, and Russia has blocked Instagram since 2022. China’s censors have blocked threads.com since at least October 2023, and in April 2024 Apple removed the app from its China App Store on the Cyberspace Administration of China’s order. Our test machines in Iran, mostly in data centers, don’t always run into that block.
Threads has also been caught up in wider bans. Nepal included it in the 26 unregistered platforms it blocked in September 2025, a ban lifted days later after deadly protests, and Australia counts Threads among the ten platforms that have had to keep out users under 16 since 10 December 2025.
Key dates
Threads returns to Turkey, and people there can reactivate the accounts they had before it was withdrawn in 2024.
Australia’s minimum-age law takes effect, and Threads is one of ten platforms that must keep out users under 16.
Nepal blocks Threads with 25 other platforms that hadn’t registered with the government; the ban is lifted days later.
Meta shuts Threads in Turkey to comply with a competition authority order against sharing data with Instagram.
Threads launches in the European Union, five months after the rest of the world.
Meta launches Threads in more than 100 countries, but not the EU; Iran blocks it within a day.
Get past a block
Threads blocked where you are?
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History
Changes for Threads
No confirmed changes since monitoring began on 29 Sep 2026. When a block appears or lifts, and a re-check on several machines agrees, it shows up here.
Method
How we test
Test machines on the two biggest home-internet providers in most countries open the homepage every day.
A failure counts only when it happens twice on the same network, while the site opens from other countries.
A change is published only after re-checks a few hours later and again the next day, on several machines per provider, confirm it. It’s dated from the first sighting.
Test machines caught getting around blocks, through a VPN or a filter-dodging tool, are set aside.
We test websites, mostly over home broadband. Apps, calls and mobile networks can behave differently.
Meta held it back. When Threads launched in July 2023, sources at Meta blamed EU rules, chiefly the Digital Markets Act, which has rules on sharing user data across services, and Meta was waiting for the European Commission to clarify how it would apply. Threads arrived in the EU on 14 December 2023, five months later.
Why Did Threads Shut Down in Turkey?
Meta withdrew it on 29 April 2024 to comply with an interim order from the Turkish Competition Authority, which barred Threads from sharing data with Instagram. Meta disputed the order but said it had no other choice. Threads came back to Turkey on 17 June 2026.
Can You Use Threads in Russia?
Russia has treated it as blocked from the start. The day after its July 2023 launch, a senior Russian lawmaker said Threads was “de facto blocked”, because it shares Instagram’s accounts and servers, and Instagram has been blocked in Russia since March 2022. Users there said they couldn’t open it without a VPN.
