Threads、日次にちじモバイルモバイル利用者数りようしゃすうでXを凌駕りょうが――成長せいちょう著いちじるしい新興しんこうSNSの台頭たいとうと両りょう創業者そうぎょうしゃの対立たいりつ構図こうず

According to data from the market research firm Similarweb, the social network Threads, operated by Americas Meta, surpassed X formerly Twitter in the number of daily active mobile users worldwide for the first time in October 2023.

Threads emerged in 2023 as a service to compete with X, owned by Elon Musk, and its growth rate is truly remarkable.

According to statistics from Similarweb, the average number of daily active mobile users on Threads in October reached 128.2 million, surpassing Xs 124.7 million.

Especially at the end of the month, the gap between Threads and X widened even further, and on October 30th, the difference between the two reached about 9 million people.

On this day, Threads recorded 137 million users, while X had 128.1 million.

There are also reports that during the week of September 15th to 21st, Threads narrowly surpassed X, indicating that the competition between the two is becoming increasingly intense.

One reason for this trend is that Threads accelerated user acquisition by leveraging its strong integration with Instagram.

According to Similarweb, the number of daily active mobile users of Threads worldwide increased by 48% compared to the same period last year, while X decreased by 16%.

In a situation where Instagrams daily active users have reached 968 million, Threads, a text-based chat app for Instagram, has the significant advantage of allowing users to easily get started using their Instagram credentials.

On the other hand, when it comes to web traffic, X still maintains a significant lead, with an average of 141.7 million active web users per day in October, while Threads lags behind at only 7.6 million.

In the U.S. market as well, X still has more mobile users than Threads, but this gap is gradually narrowing.

As of October, the number of daily active mobile users in the U.S. was 21.4 million for X and 16.6 million for Threads. Compared to the same period last year, X saw a 21.6% decrease, while Threads increased by 49.4%.

When the service was launched in July 2023, the rapid growth of Threads was attributed to users dissatisfaction with Xs rebranding under Mr. Musk, the authentication process, and content censorship, which led some users to migrate to the new platform.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg launched a promotional campaign directly targeting X, achieving 30 million downloads on the first day alone.

The competition between these two services further highlights the rivalry between Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Musk, who are among the worlds top billionaires.

In the past, the two have had numerous debates, such as the SpaceX rocket explosion incident in 2016 and the controversy over AI regulation in 2017.

In 2023, the martial arts showdown between the two also became a hot topic, but it did not happen because Mr. Musk hinted that he would need surgery.

As of November 3, 2023, Mr. Musks estimated net worth is $503.9 billion approximately 77.15 trillion yen, mainly from shares in Tesla and SpaceX.

On the other hand, Mr. Zuckerberg holds $223.2 billion approximately 34.17 trillion yen and owns 13% of Metas shares.

Given the scale of assets and business activities of both parties, the competition and trends between these two services will likely continue to draw attention in the SNS industry.