Threads has lost 50% of its users, claims Meta chief Zuckerberg

Image credit : Business Today Meta's Threads app appears to face a challenging journey if it aims to surpass Twitter as the leading microblogging platform, especially since Twitter is currently rebranding as X. Despite an impressive start in early July, where approximately 100 million users activated Threads accounts within the first five days of availability, more than half of those users have stopped engaging with the app, as revealed in a call to Meta employees that was reported by Reuters. “Obviously, if you have more than 100 million people sign up, ideally it would be awesome if all of them or even half of them stuck around,” Zuckerberg said in the call, adding: “We’re not there yet.” However, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg doesn't seem overly concerned by the decline in user numbers, considering it as a "normal" occurrence. He expressed his belief that Threads' user base will grow as the app introduces new features, including the possibility of a desktop version and enhanced search capabilities for the platform's content. [caption id="attachment_188611" align="aligncenter" width="1400"] Image credit : The Hill[/caption] Threads gained a rapid following for two primary reasons. Firstly, there was substantial anticipation surrounding the app's launch, especially among Twitter users who have been dissatisfied with Elon Musk's changes to the platform since he acquired the company for $44 billion in October 2022. Secondly, Threads has seamless integration with Instagram, another Meta app with a massive user base of over a billion users. This integration facilitated easy account setup, follower acquisition, and account discovery for Threads users. Also read : Meta Threads Introduces ‘Following’ and ‘Translations’ Features At its launch, Threads bore a significant resemblance to Twitter, to the point that a lawyer representing Musk's business threatened legal action, citing it as a "copycat" product. Initially, Threads lacked several features one would expect from such an app, but the development team has since been working to enhance its usability. For instance, the recent addition of a Following feed displays posts exclusively from people users follow, offering an alternative to the existing algorithmic feed.