Threads reportedly overtakes X on mobile daily users
Threads has been steadily catching up to X on mobile for a while, and new data suggests that gap has now been closed.
Meta’s text-based social platform, Threads has been steadily catching up to X over the past year or so, and new data suggests a milestone has been reached. Although X is still the clear victor when it comes to web, it appears that Threads has overtaken X for daily mobile users.
According to TechCrunch, who cites data from market intelligence firm Similarweb, Threads is now seeing more daily activity on mobile devices than X. As of the 7th of January, Threads recorded 141.5 million daily active users across iOS and Android, compared to X’s 125 million. While X still performs strongly on the web, Threads continues to gain ground where most users spend their time today – on mobile apps.
Is this development due to Threads gaining popularity and preference, or is it down to X’s dwindling reputation and loss of favour? TechCrunch notes that the rise in Threads usage reflects longer-term trends rather than short-term spikes and a reaction to X-related news. However, the controversy that Elon Musk’s integrated AI tool, Grok has generated recently has prompted investigations in several regions. This could, in time, have a greater impact on daily user base for both X and Threads.
The Grok controversy has seemingly had ripple effects across the social space to other platforms, though. Bluesky saw downloads of its app surge last week in the wake of X’s news. However, its overall user numbers remain small compared to the two major platforms.
Threads’ steady rise appears to be driven more by Meta’s wider ecosystem and product strategy. The app is regularly promoted across Facebook and Instagram, helping it reach large numbers of existing users. Threads has also focused heavily on creators and community building, while rolling out new features at speed. Over the past year, these updates have included interest-based communities, improved content filters, direct messages, long-form text posts, disappearing content, and even early testing of games.
These changes are reflected in Meta’s own figures. In August 2025, the company announced that Threads had surpassed 400 million monthly active users. Meta later confirmed that Threads had reached 150 million daily active users, suggesting that more people are now using the app as part of their everyday routine.
The picture is very different on the web. Similarweb data shared by TechCrunch shows that X continues to dominate desktop usage, with around 145 million daily web visits. Threads, by comparison, sees far lower traffic across its web domains. This is not entirely surprising, as Threads launched as a mobile-first platform.
These latest figures reinforce that Threads’ growth on mobile has been building over time, supported by ongoing feature updates and promotion across Meta’s platforms. At the same time, X continues to retain a significant audience on the web. Together, the data shows two platforms developing in different directions, with usage patterns shaped by where and how each service has focused its product development, as well as reactions to developing controversy.