The app launched on July 6th to rave reviews and amassed more than 100 million sign-ups in its first few days, causing people to dub it the ‘Twitter killer’.
However, 7 days later, the daily active users on the app reduced by over 51 per cent, according to data analytics company, Similarweb.
On its best performing day, July 7, the app had more than 49 million daily active users but by July 14, active users had dropped to 23.6 million.
The app also has a very similar layout to Twitter, which is another reason why the comparison between both is heavy. It however lacks some of Twitter’s basic features like the trending table, use of emojis and hashtags, as well as a chronological feed.
It was reported that Twitter threatened legal action against Meta, Threads’ parent company, over the app.
In a letter addressed to Meta Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg which was signed by a lawyer for Twitter, Alex Spiro, the company stated that Meta has engaged in systemic and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.
They also claimed that Meta has poached numerous ex-Twitter employees and then tasked them to use their knowledge of Twitter trade secrets to develop Threads in a short period of time.