Following Threads’ launch of its web version earlier this week, mobile analytics and business intelligence firm, GWS, has released real-time user numbers for Threads and X (formally Twitter), that reveal just how much ground Meta’s new microblogging site has lost since its early surge.  

X’s average daily user numbers have remained steady in both the US and UK since early July, maintaining its presence through the rebrand and the rise of Threads. The company continues to average around 22m daily active users (DAUs) in the US, and 6m in the UK.

In contrast, Threads’ DAUs have fallen significantly in both markets – down from around 3.4m at the beginning of July in the US to just 1.2m as of mid-August. Similarly, in the UK, Threads has seen its daily active user numbers crash by nearly 1 million. The company averaged around 1.4m DAUs in early July, but as of mid-August that figure stands at just 430,000.

In the UK, Threads has also seen its average daily sessions per user fall dramatically from around 4.7 each day in July to just 1.8 in mid-August. X’s user base, however, checked into the platform around 5 times a day throughout this period with little variation.

In the US, there has been a slightly less significant drop in daily sessions per user, which went from roughly 4.6 at the beginning of July to 2.6 in mid-August, whilst X users maintained a 4.4 average over this period.

According to GWS’ data from UK mobile users, the percentage of Threads users who are also active on X has held steady around the 30 per cent mark since its launch in early July. Conversely, only 2.5 per cent of X users are also on Threads.

In the US, the proportion of Threads users who are also active on X peaked at 53.8 per cent in early July before falling to an average of roughly 45 per cent in mid-August. Those on X who are also active on Threads in the US has shrunk from 7.6 per cent in early July to just 2.8 per cent by mid-August.

“When a company goes through a major rebrand, the expectation is that it will solidify its market position and make steps to attract a new audience,” said GWS CEO, Dr Paul Carter. “Elon Musk’s major overhaul of Twitter’s branding, adopting the X name and logo, might have attracted controversy, especially at a time when the company faces the looming threat of a well-funded rival in Threads. However, real time mobile data from social media users across the UK and the US shows Twitter continues to hold steady, despite external threats.

“The same, however, cannot be said for its main new rival Threads and its parent company Meta. The so called ‘Twitter-killer’ burst onto the scene in early July,  attracting those disillusioned with Twitter’s recent moves. However, despite initial success, the company has seen its user numbers plummet in the UK by nearly 1 million since launch, and over 2 million in the US, a drop of nearly 70 per cent across both locations. And in a world that is inherently mobile, especially when it comes to social media, it is questionable as to whether launching a website will change Threads’ fortunes.

“While you might expect more X users to have migrated over to Threads following launch, in fact the opposite is true. Our data shows that 30 per cent of Threads’ daily users are on Twitter, but just 2.5 per cent of X users are also on Threads in the UK, while in the US we see that 45 per cent of Threads users are also on X, while just 2.8 per cent of X users are also on Threads. The mass exodus from one platform to the other just hasn’t occurred.”