Is Threads worth the investment for promotion? Maybe not—engagement rates have fallen 70% since launch.
Meta introduced Threads as an upstart Twitter alternative tied to its Instagram platform, but a lack of features has left users unhappy. For one thing, the service doesn’t support hashtags, which are a crucial way for promoters or anyone to build a following online or talk about a local event and follow the conversation at large. Sensor Tower data shows daily active users are down to just 13 million, down from a peak of 70% at launch.
Sensor Tower data also reveals that the users who are still engaging with Threads are doing so for much less time. During launch week, iOS users spent an average of 19 minutes on the app—which dropped down to just four minutes. Android users dropped similarly to five minutes from a peak of 21 minutes on launch day.
Threads’ main competitor is Twitter, which has sustained around 200 million daily active users since Elon Musk’s takeover. Users on Twitter spend an average of around 30 minutes a day on the app, making it a useful place to promote local events and reach an online population interested in a particular subject.
Part of the drop off Threads is experiencing is from new users bouncing off of the app because it’s not a true Twitter replacement. With no way to use hashtags or DM friends, the app feels like a glorified place to spout into the ether, which is only one dimension of Twitter. Instagram boss Adam Mosseri has acknowledged the feature set of Threads is lacking and that the company is working to do something about it.
“We’re working on getting you those new features,” Mosseri posted on Threads to people complaining about the bare-bones implementation of the current app. Those features include support for multiple accounts, the ability to edit posts, and a chronological feed option.