Both are controlled by absolutely disgusting people. There's little moral high ground using Threads over X.
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Threads Usage Overtakes X on Mobile
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Tr55
macrumors regular
I find these usage figure suspicious.
Threads has almost no cultural effect, no-one cares what you write on threads, it is not in any way part of the zeitgeist of world ideas.
Threads has almost no cultural effect, no-one cares what you write on threads, it is not in any way part of the zeitgeist of world ideas.
I guess I count as a user of mobile Threads, when I accidentally press the button on Instagram and get switched into the app
I stopped using that twiter thing, and never used this thread thing.. not my scene .. too much crap there
boswald
macrumors 68030
Hey, I am one of the five people who actually liked that service.
CarlJ
Contributor
Yes, because the name X is stupid, and ridiculously generic.
X is great but needs training. I use it professionally and it take a few days of telling it you don't want to see any political post and then...they all disappear and only things I want to see show up. It's pretty useful to follow developments in my field and Apple stuff and FSD and AI stuff once you tell it consistently I don't want the politics stuff.
I think that is the key. They do the same with Facebook. I sometimes click on the comments button because I can’t help myself and occasionally without even realizing it’s a threads post, I click, and oops I’m now a Threads “active user”. Lol
Meta's Threads has now reportedly surpassed its rival X (formerly Twitter) in daily mobile usage globally.
Market intelligence firm Similarweb (via TechCrunch) reports that Threads recorded 141.5 million daily active users across iOS and Android worldwide as of January 7, 2026, compared with 125 million daily active mobile users for X.
The data indicates that Threads crossed ahead of X on mobile sometime between late October and early November 2025, following a prolonged period of steady growth rather than a sudden spike. While X continues to attract more mobile users than Threads in the United States, Similarweb estimates that X's U.S. daily active mobile user base has declined significantly, falling to roughly half of what it was a year earlier, as Threads continues to gain ground.
Despite Threads' gains on mobile, Similarweb's data shows that X maintains a decisive lead when web usage is included. As of January 13, 2026, X was attracting an estimated 145.4 million daily web visitors, compared with approximately 8.5 million daily web visitors for Threads. When mobile and web audiences are combined, X is estimated to exceed 270 million daily users, while Threads totals roughly 150 million daily users across platforms.
Article Link: Threads Usage Overtakes X on Mobile
I just can't believe some people still use anything from Musk.
Analog Kid
macrumors G3
I think it should be written “Twitter (currently X)”.
Not surprising. I don't know how anyone uses X when the second you get there you are bombarded with obvious rage baiting. Everything there is a cynical attempt to engagement bait you. There is almost 0 genuine behaviour left over there.
Felix Lyran
macrumors member
I suppose that’s a good thing: Better to not be thought of at all than to be thought of as regime media promoting AI-generated CSAM to an audience increasingly comprised of just bots and, of the few humans, some of the worst on the planet.
ScanTheNavian
macrumors 6502
Let’s just keep calling it twitter. X is not a great name, no matter how bad Musk wants a company to be named X.
Just like the Sears Tower will be the Sears Tower, and twitter will always be twitter to me.
MacHeritage
macrumors 6502a
As someone who works with social media and others in social media as part of my job, I can say this from my experience, currently:
- Everything happens on X. I am talking politics, news, breaking news, big people saying something that will be on the news at night, major anything that is important in any way. Even if views of many accounts are currently suffering because something has changed with the algorithm. I also don't like how they changed some things lately. It is like a large busy city that is always going nonstop.
- Facebook has all the people in the world on it (or so they say), somehow. They can't post news or any real information but somehow it is the largest by far. But again, nothing is going on there compared to X because of the news ban. I think it is more connections with people. More personal, which is strange when you know it is Facebook. Why give them all this info? Some even use it as a bookmark service. They never post anything but check out a couple things and leave consistently. Success on Facebook can come out of no where. It is like a country in a bottle with no one linking or posting what is going on news wise. If that makes sense. I also think bots and AI inflate their numbers by far. Many I know have left but for all the people leaving...Facebook numbers seem unhindered or going up. Makes no sense. Still the power house with numbers. It must be grandma's recipe's. LOL They have also backed off of the major censorship compared to several years ago helping some come back on board. It was hurting income too much they said.
- Threads? Why? If I didn't hear these stories on MacRumors I wouldn't know they existed. I am convinced it is made up of bots and AI etc. It can't hold a candle to the content on X and I know of zero people that even know what it is and no one that uses it either. LOL I do see its logo on a site once in a while but that is it. There is zero reason to be on it, IMO. This is the new Google+ for sure. Don't understand how they have so many mobile users compared to X.
- Blue Sky is mostly left leaning, with some exceptions. I would think this would be larger than Threads but less then X. If it is left leaning you are looking for, best chance of finding it or those people, on this service. I have found some companies/organizations on there that won't be on X or that have left X.
- Gab is a little later to the party, news wise, then X and can be right leaning most of the time but can also be left leaning in some areas. Not very much tech and more political heavy. It all depends on the circles of friends one creates and if one shuts off certain voices etc. I prefer to see it all. Many have returned to X so slightly less interaction than what used to be when Twitter and Facebook was banning everyone. I would expect it to explode in popularity even more, if censorship starts up again on Facebook or X. Many are on here without wanting anyone to know it is them. Paid account helps with spreading the word and video shorts get a certain amount of eyeballs every post. Latest UI overhaul has a lot of bugs in it though and I believe was built using AI. Bug fixing is still in progress and I prefer the old version more even if it wasn't as modern. Lots of real users though, so after work hours seem to have all the main action. No porn or nudity is a guarantee on Gab.
- Minds can feel like a ghost town one week and going somewhere with followers the next. But it is more international with more limited use with a few exceptions. Very artsy people can be found here. Plus or Pro account, plus advertising, really helps get known on this one. Many Pro accounts are not posting but keep the Pro account status. It is both right and left leaning in one bag. Things have slowed down since the free account blockchain stuff stopped years ago but it is still ticking. I do love the quiet atmosphere though. No pressure at all.
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UliBaer
macrumors 6502a
I would simply attest them a combination of curiosity, FOMO and an obsession with recognition.
Both are a cesspool owned by professional cesspool creators.
I agree about 'formerly Twitter' being stupid, just calling it Twitter is entirely sufficient.
attila
macrumors 65816
I would have said that a year or so ago, but now it bares no resemblance to the Twitter community that it once was.
Neofox
macrumors regular
If you read the article you'll see that the opposite is happening.
> Similarweb estimates that X's U.S. daily active mobile user base has declined significantly, falling to roughly half of what it was a year earlier, as Threads continues to gain ground.
People are leaving Twitter because they don't want to have anything to do with Musk, the nazi's and the plethora of controversy happening (ie. Grok generating child porn and sexualized picture of every pictures posted on the platform)
