When Threads was launched in early July, it amassed 100 million active users in just five days, a milestone that Twitter achieved in more than five years. However, its daily active users dwindled by 80 percent since its peak. 

Threads is having problems with retention

Sensor Tower, a market research firm, reported a decline in Thread’s user engagement. At Threads peak, it had 44 million daily users. Now, it has only eight million daily users. Sensor Tower also added that the users are spending less time on the app, with an average of 2.4 minutes per day of scrolling — compared to 19 minutes at its launch.

Another market research firm, Similarweb, reported a decline in Threads retention. The firm reported that on Android devices alone, the app has 500k daily active users (DAU) as of August 7, compared to its peak in July with a recorded 2.3 million DAU. Twitter, now X, recorded 100 million DAU on Android, with users spending an average of 25 minutes per day using the app. 

However, despite these numbers, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is optimistic about where the app is heading. According to him, “We saw unprecedented growth out of the gate, and more importantly we’re seeing more people coming back daily than I’d expected.”

Threads needs to work on its features

Threads was positioned as the Twitter killer, but the app lacks the fundamental features that made Twitter/X the leading text-based app. Aside from DAUs declining, many leading influencers and creators are no longer active on the app. That was a huge draw of Twitter/X. Creators would continually use the app to update, inform and interact with their audiences. Even with its great start, it appears Threads just couldn’t keep creators on the platform. In turn, their audiences have no reason to return to the app.

Meta is now prioritizing how to retain its users on the app, working on more features that entice users. Zuckerberg said, “We’re focused on retention and improving the basics. And then after that, we’ll focus on growing the community to the scale we think is possible.”