Threads hits 100 million users in four days
Meta Platforms’ Twitter rival Threads has amassed 100 million sign-ups in less than a week, Engadget reports.
The publication has kept tabs on Quiver Quantitative’s Threads data tracking, which showed the Instagram sibling hitting the milestone of 100 million users just after 07:00 AM SA time on Monday, 10 July 2023.
Quiver Quantitative uses the Threads account numbers shown on Instagram pages to collect its data.
“This page is currently being updated semi-manually, which may cause delays in the estimated user count,” the firm said.
The achievement comes just four days after Threads launched on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in 100 countries, including South Africa.
The feat is even more impressive because Threads is not yet available in one of Meta’s biggest markets — Europe.
It remains to be seen if Meta can keep up the Threads momentum and surpass Twitter’s monthly active users — estimated to be between 400–500 million.
That being said, sign-ups should not be directly compared with monthly active users, as not all those who gave Threads a try will be converted into regular monthly users.
Nonetheless, Threads is performing much better than Twitter rivals like Mastodon, which had only managed to amass roughly 10 million registrations by March 2023, a 7.5 million increase from the time Elon Musk took over Twitter.
The fact that Meta can leverage its two billion-strong Instagram customer base to drive Threads sign-ups is likely a major factor in the rapid uptake.
Threads lets users sign up with their Instagram accounts, making it easier to get started on the platform.
While the Threads rollout has been largely glitch-less, there were a handful of bugs in the first few hours of availability, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s posts not being visible to some users.
Many users have also complained about Threads’ seemingly excessive moderation and strict content guidelines.
That has included some users getting flagged for bullying by putting up posts describing themselves as “stupid”.
TechCrunch labelled the app “dry” at best, and a personal data leech at worst.
“Unfortunately, Threads is incredibly boring and will likely stay that way because it adheres to Instagram’s puritanical community guidelines,” the publication said.
Meta could soon also find itself in court over Threads.
Twitter has threatened Meta with a lawsuit, alleging that the company used some of Twitter’s former employees and “highly confidential information” to develop Threads.
Loading ...