Threads users are already spending less time in the app
Meta's Threads app returns to Earth after a successful first week that saw the app experience the fastest growth ever. New data from analytics firm SimilarWeb suggests the app's engagement has since declined from initial highs despite its status as the fastest-growing app ever.
Threads saw the number of daily active users jump from 49 million on July 7 to 23.6 million on July 14, writes SimilarWeb in a new report. And in the United States, which reportedly had the highest engagement rate, usage fell from 21 minutes a day to just over six minutes over the same period.
While SimilarWeb cautions that its data is based solely on Android's use of Threads, its findings match those of other companies. Business intelligence firm Sensor Tower reported a similar drop in engagement, writing in a report that the app "has seen double-digit declines in DAUs [daily active users] and user engagement since its launch. launch".
At some level, the fall is expected. The discussions were launched at a time when many Twitter users were looking for alternatives, and its ties to Instagram made it extremely easy for users to sign up and transfer their existing social graph. At the same time, the app lacks many basic features, including a non-algorithmic feed hardly dominated by brands and influencers.
In a Threads post on Friday, Instagram's top executive, Adam Mosseri, suggested the company isn't particularly focused on engagement metrics at this point. "Our focus right now is not engagement, which has been amazing, but overcoming the initial peaks and troughs that we see with every new product, and building new features, increasing performance and improve rankings," he wrote.
Meta's ability to take full advantage of these conditions will likely depend on how quickly it can add new features to retain its users, as well as its ability to launch within the European Union. The company also faces spam issues, according to Mosseri, who said Threads would impose throughput limits and other protections. "Spam attacks have increased, so we're going to have to tighten things like throughput limits, which will mean more inadvertent throttling of active people (false positives)," he wrote.
While the drop in engagement with Threads might seem like good news for Twitter, the company still has plenty to worry about for its latest competitor. As SimilarWeb Senior Insights Manager David Carr writes, there are "some signs" that at least some of Threads' engagement has come at Twitter's expense. "During the first two full days of general availability for Threads, Thursday and Friday, web traffic to twitter.com was down 5% from the same days the previous week and Android app usage, in terms of time, was down 4.3%," Carr says. He also notes that "Twitter user retention is down" from last year.
Meta's Threads app returns to Earth after a successful first week that saw the app experience the fastest growth ever. New data from analytics firm SimilarWeb suggests the app's engagement has since declined from initial highs despite its status as the fastest-growing app ever.
Threads saw the number of daily active users jump from 49 million on July 7 to 23.6 million on July 14, writes SimilarWeb in a new report. And in the United States, which reportedly had the highest engagement rate, usage fell from 21 minutes a day to just over six minutes over the same period.
While SimilarWeb cautions that its data is based solely on Android's use of Threads, its findings match those of other companies. Business intelligence firm Sensor Tower reported a similar drop in engagement, writing in a report that the app "has seen double-digit declines in DAUs [daily active users] and user engagement since its launch. launch".
At some level, the fall is expected. The discussions were launched at a time when many Twitter users were looking for alternatives, and its ties to Instagram made it extremely easy for users to sign up and transfer their existing social graph. At the same time, the app lacks many basic features, including a non-algorithmic feed hardly dominated by brands and influencers.
In a Threads post on Friday, Instagram's top executive, Adam Mosseri, suggested the company isn't particularly focused on engagement metrics at this point. "Our focus right now is not engagement, which has been amazing, but overcoming the initial peaks and troughs that we see with every new product, and building new features, increasing performance and improve rankings," he wrote.
Meta's ability to take full advantage of these conditions will likely depend on how quickly it can add new features to retain its users, as well as its ability to launch within the European Union. The company also faces spam issues, according to Mosseri, who said Threads would impose throughput limits and other protections. "Spam attacks have increased, so we're going to have to tighten things like throughput limits, which will mean more inadvertent throttling of active people (false positives)," he wrote.
While the drop in engagement with Threads might seem like good news for Twitter, the company still has plenty to worry about for its latest competitor. As SimilarWeb Senior Insights Manager David Carr writes, there are "some signs" that at least some of Threads' engagement has come at Twitter's expense. "During the first two full days of general availability for Threads, Thursday and Friday, web traffic to twitter.com was down 5% from the same days the previous week and Android app usage, in terms of time, was down 4.3%," Carr says. He also notes that "Twitter user retention is down" from last year.
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