Threads, Meta’s response to Twitter, seems to be experiencing a post-launch slowdown, with a marked decline in user engagement according to data from Sensor Tower and SimilarWeb. Nevertheless, with an impressive 100 million sign-ups within just five days, it remains one of the fastest-debuting apps ever and appears to be chipping away at Twitter’s traffic.
Last week, Threads saw a record 100 million sign-ups in only five days. However, data indicates a noticeable drop in growth and engagement since then. Sensor Tower reveals that daily active users were down about 20% from Saturday, and time spent per user fell by half, from 20 minutes to 10 minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday. SimilarWeb mirrors these findings, noting a drop of more than 25% in daily active users between its peak on July 7 and Monday for Threads users on Android phones globally.
Anthony Bartolacci, Managing Director at Sensor Tower, said, “These early returns signal that despite the hoopla during its launch, it will still be an uphill climb for Threads to carve out space in most users’ social network routine.”
Despite the drop in engagement, Meta remains optimistic about the app’s performance. A Meta spokesperson commented, “While it’s early days, we’re excited about the initial success of Threads, which has surpassed our expectations.”
While Threads is still in its infancy, it seems to have already made an impact on Twitter. Reports suggest that during the peak of Threads activity, Twitter web traffic dropped around 5%. David Carr, Senior Insights Manager at SimilarWeb, noted, “These are admittedly very early indicators, but they do show Threads has the potential to steal significant usage away from Twitter.”
Threads, launched on July 5, offers a text-based social media experience, similar to Twitter, and attracted headlines for its Instagram sign-up integration and a positive response from advertisers. Its launch saw users posting over 95 million posts and 190 million likes in just a single day.
Adam Mosseri, head of both Instagram and Threads at Meta, made it clear that he does not plan to prioritize news or politics on the new platform, potentially differentiating it from Twitter. This focus has caused some analysts to predict that Meta only needs one in four Instagram users to use Threads monthly for it to match Twitter’s size.
While Threads has shown promise as a formidable competitor to Twitter, its early decline in user engagement serves as a reminder that maintaining momentum in the social media landscape can be challenging. As Meta navigates this critical stage, the industry will be watching closely to see if Threads can sustain its early impact.
