Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has confirmed a significant drop in user count for the company’s latest social media application, Threads. Despite an initial spike of over 100 million sign-ups within five days of its launch earlier this month, the platform has since seen its user base drop by more than half.
“We haven’t managed to maintain even half of the initial user base so far, despite the substantial initial sign-up,” Zuckerberg said in a statement addressed to his employees. However, the Meta CEO assured that this trend is a usual occurrence and expected user retention to improve as the platform incorporates new features.
Zuckerberg’s statement came during an internal call, which was reported by Reuters news agency. Threads, touted as a competitor to Twitter, had previously come under scrutiny for its limited functionality, such as restrictions on post displays and content availability.
The focus now, according to Meta’s chief product officer Chris Cox, is to incorporate more “retention-driving hooks” to re-engage users. Among the proposed improvements is enhanced integration with Instagram, allowing important Threads to be visible on the photo-sharing app. Notably, to sign up for Threads, users must already have an Instagram account.
Zuckerberg also updated his staff on Meta’s high-stakes gamble on the yet-to-be-developed Metaverse, a virtual reality world. He confirmed that while the associated augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology development was on track, he did not anticipate mainstream adoption until the next decade.
This timeline could heighten concerns over Meta’s extensive investment in the Metaverse. Its Reality Labs division, responsible for VR headsets and other related products, has already accrued multi-billion dollar losses. Nonetheless, Meta continues to report strong financial performance, announcing a $7.79bn profit for the last quarter.
On a lighter note, Zuckerberg addressed the speculation about a proposed cage fight with tech giant Elon Musk. Though both parties had shown interest in the past, Zuckerberg expressed doubt about the event’s likelihood.
