Jan 19, 2026 10:22:00

Threads surpasses X (formerly Twitter) in mobile app daily active users, but X still dominates in browser version

A new report from market research firm

Similarweb reveals that Meta's social media platform, Threads, has finally surpassed Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) in the number of daily active users.

Threads edges out X in daily mobile users, new data shows | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/18/threads-edges-out-x-in-daily-mobile-users-new-data-shows/

According to a Similarweb research report, X still leads Threads in the number of daily active users on the browser version, but when comparing only the mobile apps for iOS and Android, Threads has finally surpassed X in the number of daily active users.

The mobile app version of Threads has seen a steady increase in the number of daily active users over the past few months, reaching 141.5 million daily active users as of January 7, 2026. The mobile app version of X has 125 million daily active users, so the difference is 16.5 million.

Below is a graph summarizing the changes in the number of daily active users of the mobile app versions of Threads and X since December 2024. We can see that Threads is gradually increasing its number of daily active users, while X is gradually decreasing its number of daily active users.

However, it has also become clear that X dominates in the number of daily active users of the browser version. The graph below summarizes the number of daily active users of the browser version of X (black line) and Threads (red line) from July 2025 onwards. While X's daily active users are around 150 million, Threads's are only around 8.5 million, which shows that it is hardly used via browser compared to the mobile app.

Regarding the decline of X and the growth of Threads, technology media TechCrunch points out that 'this appears to be the result of a long-term trend, rather than a reaction to the recent uproar over X. '

X has been blocked in Indonesia and Malaysia and is facing an investigation by regulators in the UK after users used Grok, a generative AI integrated into the platform, to create non-consensual nude images of women, including minors.

Grok and X have also become a problem in the United States, with politicians sending open letters to the CEOs of Apple and Google urging them to remove the Grok and X apps from their app stores. The California Attorney General has also issued a cease and desist order to xAI, the developer of Grok.

Elon Musk's Grok app is still able to generate sexually explicit images, California's attorney general issues cease and desist order to Grok's xAI - GIGAZINE

In addition, following the X incident, the number of Bluesky installations has also increased sharply .