Threads users fall by over 80% from its peak

Threads, a new social media platform launched by Meta, ended July with 8 million active daily users, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

This figure represents an 82% decrease from its peak daily active user count of 44 million just days after Threads launched.

If you have more than 100 million people sign up, ideally it would be awesome if all of them or even half of them stuck around. We’re not there yet

Mark Zuckerberg

The Twitter rival had more than 100 million sign-ups within the first 5 days of its launch, however, a few weeks ago it was reported that users fell by more than half. The newest data shows a drop of over 80%, which has been attributed to the app’s lack of popular features such as hashtags, direct messaging, and trending stories.

Acknowledging the fall in users, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg said: “If you have more than 100 million people sign up, ideally it would be awesome if all of them or even half of them stuck around. We’re not there yet”.

Yet Zuckerberg seems optimistic about Threads’ potential. He said that Meta will prioritise “retention and improving the basics” of the app before shifting to growth and monetisation.

Amid a considerable amount of criticism upon its release, predominantly surrounding the app’s limited functionality, Meta has since added new features. These include separate “following” and “for you” feeds, and increased scope to translate posts into different languages.

The company’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, announced that Threads is focusing on adding more “retention-driving hooks”, which is likely to involve its closely linked sister platform Instagram. Nonetheless, Meta continues to flourish financially, having recently announced a total profit of $7.79 billion in the last quarter.

Should Zuckerberg’s plans come to fruition, Threads may well provide substantial competition to Elon Musk’s Twitter. Given the recent rebrand of Musk’s platform, the social media industry has been rocked, and change is coming more rapidly than ever. Whether Threads will be a success remains to be seen, although amid all the controversies and criticism, Zuckerberg has made it clear a plan is in place.