Meta’s effort pay off as Threads' downloads see a growth

Threads’ install base is seeing an increase, in large part due to the recent efforts by Meta. A recent analysis of app store trends reveals that Threads is surpassing X, formerly known as Twitter, particularly in terms of new downloads.

According to Apptopia, an app intelligence firm, Threads experienced a shift in its daily download trend. While the downloads had been decreasing since September, they reversed course since Thursday, November 23. The daily downloads increased from approximately 350,000 in early November to 620,000, compared to around one million in early September.

Apptopia speculates that Meta's advertising campaign for the Twitter alternative has contributed to this recent surge. Despite this, Threads still outpaces X in terms of new app downloads. From September onwards, X acquired 27 million new downloads, while Threads garnered 41 million. These figures include downloads of X's app for emerging markets, Twitter Lite, which has not yet been rebranded as X. Notably, Threads' growing popularity is primarily outside the U.S., with India being the leading source of new downloads at 11.2% or 9.2 million. The U.S. follows with 7.4% of downloads, or 6.1 million. This aligns with the broader trend of India driving growth for Instagram.

Conversely, X's main source of new downloads is not the U.S. but Indonesia, followed by India. However, even when combined, the U.S., Indonesia, and India contributed fewer new downloads for X compared to India alone for Threads.

The report suggests that the decline in new downloads for X is attributed to its rebranding. The app has experienced a loss of momentum in growth. In response to this, in late September, X added the label 'formerly Twitter' to its App Store description to enhance its visibility in searches for the keyword 'Twitter'.

This adjustment followed a decrease in weekly active users and rankings post-rebrand, as reported by Sensor Tower, an app store intelligence firm. Sensor Tower noted that despite X's declining ranking, the app 'Twitter Lite' gained traction, likely because users were seeking the familiar Twitter app. This resulted in a substantial increase in Twitter Lite installs, jumping by approximately 350% in the first week after the rebranding.