Threads’ Active User Count Sees 50% Drop, Report Says

The honeymoon phase might be over for Meta's Threads.

A recent study from a data analytics company revealed that the daily active user count (DAU) for Threads dropped by half a week after it was released despite its strong start.

This report follows the findings of a recent study from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower, which found that Threads has an uphill battle to fight to carve out space in most users' social network routines.

Threads' Dimming Appeal

Threads had quite a strong start. It had ten million people signed up for it when it launched and got 90 million more just a few days after. This achievement was due to the microblogging platform being built on the back of Instagram, allowing Instagram users to use their accounts to create a Threads profile, making the sign-up process easier.

It was thanks to this integration that solved the "cold start problem" other social media platforms have. Content creators aren't afraid to move to Threads since they don't have to work hard to establish themselves on the newly released microblogging platform.

However, what goes up must come down sooner or later. According to data analytics company Similarweb, Threads' DAU count dropped from 49 million to 23.6 million (22% of Twitter's audience) in just a week.

The firm mentioned that Threads' DAU count got cut in half come July 14, while its best day was on July 7 - the day after its official launch - when it had more than 49 million DAU on Android worldwide, 45% of Twitter's DAU.

Similarly, users in the US began spending less time in Threads as its novelty wore off. US users spent around 21 minutes on the platform on July 7; it dropped to a little over 6 minutes by July 14.

This drop may be due to Threads missing many basic features users are looking for in a microblogging and social media app, along with a compelling reason to switch from Twitter or start a new social media habit with it.

Similarweb's report has similarities with Sensor Tower's study. You may remember that Sensor Tower managing director Anthony Bartolacci said that while Threads' Instagram integration gave it a higher flood than other services, it will still need a more compelling value proposition than simply "Twitter, but without Elon Musk."

David Carr, senior insights manager at Similarweb, agrees with Bartolacci's statement, saying that not every user has made a habit of visiting Threads as often as they might other social media apps despite the success it initially enjoyed.

David And Goliath

Regardless, Similarweb's study found that Threads has what it takes to compete with Twitter for its market share in the microblogging scene. For the first two days of Threads' launch, Twitter saw a 5% lower web traffic compared to the same days of the previous week; Android app usage also went by as much as 4.3%.

Twitter is also losing loyal users regardless of what happens to Threads, Similarweb found, with Elon Musk's takeover being one of the major contributing factors to the trend. On Android, the percentage of new Twitter users who continue to regularly use the Twitter app after 30 days dropped from 19% in May 2022 to 16% in May 2023.

Meanwhile, Instagram users remained loyal to the app, with the loyalty of new Instagram users on Android remaining steady at 40%.