Meta has confirmed that it has launched a limited-time, invite-only bonus program for social media creators on Threads, in an apparent effort to boost engagement on the platform as it crosses the 150 million user mark.

As it has in the past on Instagram Reels, and as it is trying out on Instagram as well, Meta is offering bonuses to certain creators for posts on Threads that go viral — with a number of stipulations and qualifications. Eligible creators who have received the invite will need to sign up for the bonus program on Instagram, as the two bonus programs will apparently be administered in tandem.

Meta says that there will be "individualized" requirements for the bonuses, and eligible Threads posts can not be artificially boosted, cannot contain copyrighted material, and must contain some text.

Eligible posts also must not contain watermarks from other platforms, like YouTube or TikTok. And they must have at least 2,500 eligible views.

According to Endgadget, at least one creator reports being offered "up to $5,000" as a bonus on Threads for a post or reply that receives 10,000 or more views. And, the site notes, while this is half as much as was being offered for viral Reels in an earlier program, posts on Threads, like tweets, are typically much more low-effort.

And bonus payouts will be subjected to minimums, which can be tracked on Instagram's dashboard for earnings on creator accounts. "In some cases, you must earn a minimum amount to receive a bonus payout," the company says. "If you don’t reach the minimum amount, you will not receive any bonus payout, but you may be invited to participate in another bonus opportunity in the future."

The limited-time window for the latest program is not clear, but the company says, "you’ll need to set up bonuses on Instagram before the eligibility expires."

Mark Zuckerberg has publicly stated his hope that Threads will be Meta's next billion-user platform, though that may take another couple of years. Threads, which launched in July 2023, crossed the 150 million monthly user threshold as of last week — which may or may not have been aided by Taylor Swift joining the platform to promote her new album.

In Meta's first-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg said that Threads "continues to be on the trajectory that I hope to see."

As Business Insider noted last week, Threads is already outperforming Xitter in certain metrics, including with monthly users in the US. X claims to have 550 million global user per month, but Threads is reportedly already doing better, nine months in, in terms of American users.