Threads user count falls dramatically and now Twitter rate limits have been introduced

Meta's Threads app was incredibly popular at launch, but not anymore

(Credit: Meta)

After its meteoric rise, Threads is now struggling to retain users and is also facing the same type of issues that plagued Twitter – the platform it wants to replace.

The Twitter clone designed by Meta attracted more than 59 million users after it launched on July 6, but the amount of daily active users has fallen dramatically to around 23.6 million, according to research from analytic firm SimiliarWeb.

The huge influx of users made sense, particularly as Threads is part of Instagram, which has two billion monthly users, according to Meta. Many will have signed up simply because it was convenient to do so, rather than actually wanting a Twitter-like app in the first place.

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Threads in decline

• 😬 After its initial success, it seems like people aren’t hanging around on Threads

• 😯 The amount of active daily users has fallen dramatically after 59 million signed up

• 🤦‍♂️ Meta’s platform is also now suffering from similar issues to Twitter

• 📈 Despite the competition, Twitter usage stats have increased

The timing of Threads’ release was also rather fortuitous (read: deliberately planned) as Twitter was facing a backlash after introducing rate limits. Now, though, Threads is suffering from the same problem, making the reaction to Twitter’s decision seem all the more unreasonable in hindsight.

Threads terms and conditions have also caused some people to reflect or perhaps step back from the platform. I warned people not to sign up to Meta’s Threads before doing some research, as you’ll be surrendering almost every piece of personal information possible to Mark Zuckerberg’s latest creation. You’ll also need to delete your Instagram account if you ever decide to delete your Threads profile and data in the future.

Threads has also been criticized for censorship, banning users from sharing opinions on controversial topics like gender and discouraging users from following certain accounts.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, Elon Musk shared that platform usage is up 3.5% week over week, and Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino shared that Twitter had its largest usage day since February in July, despite the launch of Threads. It seems that Twitter’s demise has been greatly exaggerated once again.