Threads, an app developed by Instagram, is outstripping Twitter’s X app in daily downloads, predominantly because of strategic promotional efforts by Meta. Moments in late 2024 saw Threads amass over half a million daily installations on both Android and Apple devices. Despite a minor dip in iOS downloads in January, Threads rallied and remained in steady competition with X.
Demonstrating its tenacity, Threads managed to sustain its daily download superiority over X, even through challenging times. Easily illustrating this dominance was February 25, 2024. Threads’ iOS downloads almost tripled those of X, maintaining a consistent lead across both Google Play and App Store.
The surging downloads for Threads are challenging Twitter’s established hold on microblogging, helping Meta extend its social media dominance. Its burgeoning popularity in Japan—a stronghold for Twitter—indicates the looming threat to Twitter’s reign.
Yet, when examining X’s daily active users, there’s a level of uncertainty due to possible bot or spam account activity. Misrepresentation due to such accounts has led to arguably inflated user statistics for X, muddying the waters of accurate user engagement metrics.
Although X seems to be struggling to grow its new installation rate, Threads has also seen a slowdown in its revenue growth. After X’s initial launch excitement dwindled, it wrestled with the fallout of the lack of connection with Twitter, which may have contributed to slowing installations. Threads, similarly, saw modest revenue growth in January, with experts predicting potential decline in February.
Other competitors to X, like the Mastodon mobile app and newcomer Bluesky, have yet to make a significant impact on the market. Their download rates have remained static, underlining X’s dominance and the challenges facing new entrants in the social media landscape. As it stands, these platforms face an uphill battle to disrupt major players like X and Threads.
