Threads, the highly anticipated Twitter rival developed by Meta, is facing significant challenges retaining users just a month after its grand debut, as reported by market research firms Similarweb and Sensor Tower. The data highlights a concerning decline in user engagement, raising questions about the app’s future in the highly competitive social media landscape.
According to Sensor Tower, Threads has seen a drastic 82% drop in daily active users since its launch, leaving the app with only eight million users accessing it each day. This figure is a sharp contrast to the peak of approximately 44 million daily active users observed on the day following the app’s release. Users are opening the app less frequently and spending significantly less time on it, with the average daily time spent plummeting to a mere 2.9 minutes by August 1.
Similarweb’s findings mirrored Sensor Tower’s observations, indicating that Threads’ user count reached its zenith at around 49 million on July 7, the day after the app’s debut, before steadily declining to just over 11 million by July 29.
The most significant decline occurred in the initial two weeks after launch, but the latest data reveals that the downward trend is still ongoing, with Sensor Tower reporting a continuing daily active user count decrease of approximately 1%.
Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, expressed optimism during the company’s earnings call last month, citing “unprecedented growth out of the gate” and users returning daily. He emphasized the company’s focus on retention and improving the app’s core features before expanding the community further.
Threads initially launched with a limited set of features and subsequently promised to incorporate highly requested tools, such as a reverse-chronological content feed, a desktop version of the app, and direct messaging functionality. On July 10, Zuckerberg proudly announced that over 100 million users had signed up for Threads, boasting its status as one of the fastest-growing apps in history.
To address the declining user engagement, Meta has reportedly been exploring the addition of “retention-driving hooks” aimed at keeping users engaged on the platform. However, it remains to be seen if these measures will be sufficient to reverse the downward trend and attract a larger and more dedicated user base.
As the battle for social media supremacy rages on, Threads’ performance raises concerns about the viability of new entrants in an already crowded market. Whether Meta can turn the tide and establish Threads as a significant contender to Twitter’s dominance remains uncertain, but it is evident that the company will need to take decisive actions to maintain the app’s relevance and user base in the face of mounting competition.