It seems like the party is over for Meta’s new app Threads. The Twitter rival was launched with great enthusiasm earlier this month. It quickly rose to fame with more than 100 million sign-ups within a week. However, as time has passed, the hype surrounding the platform seems to be fading.
According to various data reports, Threads had approximately 49 million daily active users (DAU) when it first launched in early July. However, by the end of the second week, this number dropped by half to 23 million DAU. Data analysts like SensorTower have also observed a significant decrease in the number of users logging into Threads after using it for a week.
New apps often generate a lot of interest, and Threads was no exception. Instagram played a significant role in promoting the app, which conveniently utilizes users’ existing account credentials, eliminating the need for a new account.
However, the similarities between Threads and Twitter end after the creation, reposting (retweeting), and liking of content. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri clarified that Threads would not prioritize news content. This means that users are mostly limited to interacting with people within their existing network, and they would need to start following everyone else from scratch. It’s not ideal for having thread posts read by family members, for example.
Twitter has built its reputation around live breaking news, making it the go-to platform for millions during events – political or entertainment. In contrast, Instagram lacks this real-time news ecosystem.
Additionally, Twitter allows users to operate anonymously, a feature that is not possible on Threads due to its direct integration with Instagram. Twitter claims that a significant portion of its user base remains anonymous, and Threads clearly misses out on this segment of daily active users.
Earlier today, Threads announced a rate limit to the posts in order to ward off spam accounts. The announcement by Instagram CEO has drawn a sharp reaction from Twitter CEO Elon Musk who has criticized Meta’s latest social media offering from day one.
“Spam attacks have picked up so we’re going to have to get tighter on things like rate limits, which is going to mean more unintentionally limiting active people (false positives). If you get caught up those protections let us know.” Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri informed in a post on Threads.
Soon after a user took the screenshot Mosseri’s post on Threads and shared it on Twitter, getting a response from Twitter boss Elon Musk. In his signature style, Musk said, “Lmaooo Copy 🐈”.
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
Updated: 18 Jul 2023, 04:08 PM IST
