Threads surpasses X in mobile users as Musk’s platform faces decline

Meta’s Threads has overtaken Elon Musk’s X in daily mobile users for the first time as the latter’s audience shrinks to half its former size, according to a recent report.

By the numbers: Data from market intelligence firm Similarweb shows that Threads reached 141.5 million daily iOS and Android users as of Jan. 7, while X recorded 125 million, TechCrunch reports. The shift reportedly occurred in late October or early November following months of sustained growth and not as a reaction to more recent Grok-related controversies.

Yet despite losing ground on mobile, where X’s U.S. audience has halved from a year ago, Musk’s platform still dominates web traffic with 145.4 million daily visitors as of Jan. 13 compared to Threads’ 8.5 million. For context, Meta reported last October that Threads had reached 150 million daily active users overall and 400 million monthly users as of August 2025.

Dig deeper: Musk’s split focus between running X and attempting government restructuring appears to have accelerated his platform’s struggles. From January 2025, he led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, but left Washington after clashing publicly with President Donald Trump in May. By November, DOGE had collapsed after delivering only a fraction of promised savings while costing taxpayers an estimated $135 billion in lost productivity.

During this period, X faced mounting crises, including California Atty. Gen. Robert Bonta’s recent investigation into Grok generating non-consensual sexual deepfakes. “The avalanche of reports detailing this material — at times depicting women and children engaged in sexual activity — is shocking and, as my office has determined, potentially illegal,” Bonta said.

What this means: The platform shift holds particular significance for Asian American users, who engage with Instagram at a notably higher rate of 58% compared to 45% among white adults. This existing user base makes Threads’ direct integration especially advantageous, appealing to a demographic that clicks social media advertisements 43% more frequently than average and spends nearly an hour more online each week.

As X becomes what some observers describe as an increasingly hostile platform, the shift to Threads offers Asian American communities alternative infrastructure for cultural organizing, creator economies and business promotion.