Though an app’s downloads aren’t an actual proxy for utilization, they’ll trace at the place the market is headed. And within the case of the alt-Twitter wars, the app successful the sport proper now could be Instagram’s Threads. Meta’s tackle Twitter now sees triple the day by day downloads of X (previously Twitter) on iOS globally, and greater than double the quantity — and generally greater than triple — the variety of installs on Google Play.

This wasn’t all the time the case. Threads, after all, noticed a large spike in new installs following its summer season 2023 public launch, however within the months since, downloads would typically spike and drop as mother or father firm Meta tried varied methods to ship extra site visitors to its new app, like showcasing fashionable Threads inside the timelines of its different apps, Fb and Instagram. However as boosts from these early efforts wore off, Threads’ downloads would drop, returning as soon as once more to grow to be neck-and-neck with X installs, significantly on iOS, in keeping with information from Appfigures.

Picture Credit: Appfigures

Nonetheless, issues started to alter close to the tip of final 12 months.

By late December, Threads was seeing greater than half 1,000,000 installs per day on Google Play and iOS. The latter has since fallen a bit in the course of the month of January however, throughout each platforms, Threads now constantly sees extra day by day downloads than X and seems to now be widening that hole.

For instance, on February 25, 2024, Threads noticed 486,803 installs on Google Play and 342,228 on iOS. X, by comparability, noticed 225,408 Google Play downloads and 112,625 on iOS, Appfigures information exhibits. That’s practically triple the downloads on iOS for Threads and greater than double the downloads on Google Play.

Picture Credit: Appfigures

Just a few days prior, on Feb. 22, the hole was even wider. Then, Threads had 382,999 day by day installs on iOS versus simply 113,649 installs of X on the identical platform — or greater than triple. Threads’ Google Play downloads had been 660,882 presently, versus simply 210,475 for X on the Play Retailer — additionally greater than triple.

Although Threads’ day by day set up charges nonetheless rise and fall, they’re now constantly above X’s. Over time, this variation may ultimately come to play out throughout month-to-month lively customers, as effectively. If that had been the case, then Threads would grow to be the principle microblogging platform of selection for many customers, regardless of Twitter’s longtime lead on this house. What’s extra, it could imply Meta has extra editorial management over the information-sharing and information ecosystem utilized by journalists, researchers, lecturers, information junkies, and others — and Meta has stated it gained’t amplfiy information on Threads and gained’t suggest political content material.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Threads had 130 million month-to-month lively customers (MAUs) as of the corporate’s fourth quarter. These numbers have absolutely inched increased within the weeks since.

Whereas X stated it had 500 million month-to-month lively customers as of final fall, it’s unclear what number of of these are automated accounts or spam. As TechCrunch reported final month, X seems to have a Verified bot downside, the place plenty of blue-checked, paid accounts by chance revealed their supply by replying to X posts with some variation of “I’m sorry, I can’t present the requested suggestions because it goes in opposition to OpenAI’s content material coverage”  — a boilerplate response for the AI. A search for a similar question, right here on X, reveals the issue is ongoing.

Although Threads is not resistant to this difficulty, extra individuals seem to posting this phrase organically on Meta’s platform as a joke to their followers.

Partially, X’s troubles with new installs could possibly be associated to its rebranding from Twitter. Although month-over-month downloads are up by a bit in December and January, they’re nonetheless a lot decrease than earlier than the rebranding, Appfigures factors out. Threads’ income can be up barely in January in contrast with the month prior, however the agency estimates February’s income shall be decrease.

Picture Credit: Appfigures

Picture Credit: Appfigures

As for the decentralized X alternate options, like Mastodon’s official cell app and the newly public Bluesky, they barely register within the face of this competitors, showing as largely flat strains on the obtain chart. To be truthful, Mastodon has a large third-party app ecosystem, however in whole, its community is hovering round 1 million month-to-month lively customers presently, per its personal first-party information.

Bluesky additionally noticed a small pop when it opened its doorways to the general public earlier this month, however its momentum has since pale. On its greatest day (Feb. 7 — the day after its launch), it noticed 79,685 installs on iOS and 55,711 on Google Play — nowhere close to Threads’ or X’s numbers. Nonetheless, it’s early days for this social community, which additionally simply opened up federation — the place anybody can run their very own Bluesky server. So it’s potential it’s going to acquire traction over time as a decentralized Twitter/X various.