Over the past week and a half, numerous media outlets, including the likes of The New York Times and CBS News, have been touting the newly launched social networking app, Threads.
These progressive-leaning outlets, along with the corporate company behind Threads, Meta Platforms, have been eager to position it as a fierce competitor to Twitter, even referring to it as a “Twitter Killer”.
Meta Platforms, under the helm of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, released the app on July 5, attracting an impressive user count exceeding 100 million in its first five days.
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This monumental launch has been seized upon by certain sectors of the media, some of which seem to be part of a concerted effort to convince the public that Twitter is on its way out, to be replaced by Threads. However, recent data indicates that these efforts may be premature.
Data from Sensor Tower reveals a significant decrease in user engagement since the app’s launch earlier this month. Threads saw a 20% drop in daily active users between Saturday and the subsequent Tuesday and Wednesday, with user time on the platform decreasing by 50% from 20 minutes to just 10 minutes in the same time frame.
In response to these initial figures, Anthony Bartolacci, Managing Director at Sensor Tower, explained, “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.”
Similarweb corroborated these findings, reporting a 25% fall in daily active users between Threads’ peak on July 7 and the following Monday. The average time users spent on the app also reduced, slipping from 20 minutes on July 6 to just 8 minutes by Monday.
David Carr, Senior Insights Manager at Similarweb, added, “While there was intense interest in checking out the app initially, not every user has made a habit of visiting Threads as often as they might other social apps.”
A Bloomberg data analysis further elucidates the concerted media effort, revealing a significant uptick in news stories featuring the keywords “Twitter Killer” during the launch period of Threads.
While the initial appeal of Threads seems to be diminishing, the reasons remain unclear. Some users have reported instances of shadow banning and algorithmic downgrading of non-mainstream content, which may have contributed to the dwindling engagement. Others may be concerned over the amount of data Threads collects.
There has been speculation that the goal of Threads is to offer agencies such as the FBI and CIA a fresh platform for political messaging, enabling them to regain control of the narrative that has purportedly waned since Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.
Though these are early days for Threads, the flurry of initial interest seems to be tapering off. Time will tell whether Threads can live up to its ambitious “Twitter Killer” moniker and sustain the interest of its initial user base.
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