Meta’s ‘Twitter Killer’ Tanking: Threads loses over half of its daily active users in 7 days

After its launch, Threads, a competitor to Twitter created by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, experienced significant success, surpassing 100 million users and becoming the fastest-growing app ever.

However, a recent report indicates that its usage has declined by half since the initial surge observed during its launch.

Threads sees a massive drop in users
According to the data-tracking site Similar Web, the number of daily active users dropped from 49 million to 23.6 million within a week, indicating that users who initially signed up are not returning regularly.

On its peak day, July 7, Threads had over 49 million daily users on Android worldwide, but by Friday, July 14, the app’s active users had decreased to 23.6 million. The report states that Threads’ audience is approximately 22% the size of Twitter’s.

The report also suggests that Threads lacks many essential features and has yet to provide a compelling reason for users to switch from Twitter or develop a new social media habit with Threads.

Zuckerberg optimistic nonetheless
Despite the data, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains optimistic about the platform. He stated that while early growth was impressive, with tens of millions of people returning daily, the focus for the rest of the year is on improving the basics and retention.

Zuckerberg acknowledged that stabilizing the user base will take time but expressed confidence in Threads’ trajectory, comparing it to the playbook used for the growth of Facebook, Instagram, Stories, Reels, and other successful platforms.

Twitter also in decline, extent not known
In addition to the decline in usage of Threads, the Similar Web report also mentioned a decline in user retention for Twitter.

Threads, as a platform, allows users to post text and links and engage with other users by replying to or reposting their messages. The app offers the capability to import existing follower lists and account names from Instagram, Meta’s popular photo and video-sharing app, which boasts over 2 billion users and includes major brands, celebrities, and creators.

It’s important to note that the specific details of the Similar Web report regarding Twitter’s user retention were not provided, so further information on the decline is not available in this context.