Threads App Downloads Spike as Interest in Musk’s X Wanes

Threads is on the rise again.

The Instagram-powered social media app saw renewed interest last month, becoming the fourth most downloaded iOS app and the eighth most downloaded app on the Google Play store.

The Twitter rival saw 12 million iOS downloads and 16 million Android downloads via Google last month, according to Appfigures data. With 28 million downloads across both app stores, this means Threads outperformed other apps like Telegram, Snapchat, Spotify, and X/Twitter.

Until last month, Threads hadn’t cracked the Appfigures top 10 most-downloaded apps list since August when it added more sharing and discovery features, suggesting an abrupt resurgence in user interest. Instagram, the most-downloaded app overall in December, also began promoting various Threads post on its platform in an effort to find new users.

By comparison, X was the 36th most downloaded app across the Apple and Google app stores in December, seeing just 3 million iOS downloads and 6 million Google Play downloads, TechCrunch first reported. Of course, X has been around since 2006 while Threads was first released in July 2023 as a Twitter alternative for the Elon Musk era.

In October, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Threads was just shy of 100 million users. A Meta representative confirmed to PCMag via email today that Threads now has 100 million users, but added that the company will announce its latest numbers during Meta’s Q4 earnings call on Feb. 1.

While Musk has stated that X had 540 million users in July 2023, an Axios report suggests that new user interest in X has declined under Musk’s ownership, with app data firm 42Matters finding that X downloads declined between November 2022 and October 2023.

While Threads saw substantial growth following its launch last year, X continues to be a top spot for active users. A Data.ai report found that X took ninth place in the top 10 apps with the most monthly active users in 2023, while Threads did not make the cut.

Instead, Threads ranked the 10th most downloaded app in 2023 overall, beating out X but remaining behind dominant platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.