When Meta launched Threads, it was billed as a 'Twitter-killer' as 100 million signed up within days of launch. But just like other rivals to Twitter, Threads seems to be losing traction.
New data apps tracking firm Sensor Tower indicates the hype has died down and Threads has seen a 20 per cent decrease in active users and a 50 per cent reduction in time spent on the app, from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.
Twitter had seen about a 5 per cent decrease in traffic right after Threads' launch earlier this month.
Threads isn't the only Twitter alternative to gain and lose traction. Mastodon saw millions of signups immediately after Elon Musk bought Twitter in a USD 44-billion deal. But since late last year, Mastodon has failed to keep users' interest.
Bluesky, backed by Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey, has also piqued some interest but hasn't really caught up.
Twitter has built its reputation around live breaking news, making it the go-to platform for millions during events -- political or entertainment. In contrast, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram and Threads, has said on many occasions that Threads has no plan to bolster news and political content.
Also, Twitter allows users to operate anonymously, something that is not possible on Threads due to its direct integration with Instagram. A significant portion of Twitter users remains anonymous, and Threads missed out on this segment of daily active users.
According to app intelligence firm data.Ai, Threads had most downloads coming from India (33 per cent), followed by Brazil (22 per cent) and the US (16 per cent).
But everyone is not writing Threads off. Brands and creators maintain a wait-and-watch stance while content creators feel the app has nothing new to offer, and will probably not work.
Co-founder and COO of SUGAR Cosmetics Kaushik Mukherjee said that the brand has leveraged Threads to "deliver fun, witty content".
"Initially we witnessed a remarkable surge in user adoption and our team actively participated in this trend.