Even if you’re not an active X user, you’ve probably heard about at least one controversy surrounding the platform since Elon Musk took control in March 2023.
From crippling the block feature and reinstating banned users to introducing an AI assistant, Musk has made the platform unrecognizable.
These changes have led to a steady decline in X’s daily active user count. While X still dominates the social media landscape, its grasp is slipping.
Meta’s rival app Threads overtook X’s active user count for the first time in September 2025, and since then, the gap has grown wider. But it’s not for the reason you think.
X is hemorrhaging users, but not because of recent controversies
X’s user count peaked in 2024
X’s rocky rebranding and subsequent controversies led Meta to capitalize on the turmoil and launch Threads in July 2023. Since then, Threads has steadily grown in popularity.
According to the market intelligence company Similarweb, Threads had 141.5 million daily active iOS and Android users globally as of January 7, 2026, while X trailed with 125 million users (via TechCrunch).
Threads first overtook X’s user count in September 2025, and while the gap has narrowed slightly in recent weeks, the data shows a remarkable shift in the social media landscape.
However, if you’ve been keeping up on the news, it’s probably not because of the reason you’re thinking of right now.
In January 2026, X launched an AI image-editing feature for its app’s AI assistant, Grok.
While this initially seemed to be no different from existing AI image editors, a lack of safeguards meant Grok could generate sexualized deepfakes of people without their consent.
This update prompted political leaders worldwide to take a stance on the platform and led to a surge of backlash from users.
However, the data shows that X’s user count decline has followed a steady trend since the 2024 US election.
The decline in X’s popularity follows long-term trends, likely due to the string of controversies that have plagued it since its rebrand in 2023.
It also correlates with the rise of Threads, which has been growing faster than X has been declining.
Bluesky, another X competitor, saw its user count quadruple in September 2024, and while user count growth has plateaued since then, it remains a popular alternative to X and Threads.
But a website’s daily user count does not tell the whole story.
X’s daily web visits show where its strengths lie
Threads has little presence on the web
While X is losing users, its web traffic remains substantially higher than its competitors.
On January 13, X recorded 145.4 million daily web visits, while Threads trailed behind with 8.5 million visits.
The data, therefore, should be interpreted not as X losing popularity, but due to the steadily improving experiences of mobile alternatives.
Threads launched to massive success but lacked crucial features. Tools as basic as a media gallery, post archiving, keyword search, and a Following tab were all missing.
However, Meta has regularly updated the app with new features, including all of the above. In 2026, it’s as feature-rich as Threads, but its strengths lie entirely in the mobile app.
While Meta continues its aggressive cross-promotion of Facebook, Threads, and Instagram, X has little hope of regaining its position as the top social media app on mobile, especially given the controversies it keeps facing.
What does the future hold for X and its competitors?
2026 may be a significant turning point for Threads and X
On January 21, 2026, Meta signaled that the golden days of Threads may be over.
The platform, previously a safe haven for ads, will start rolling out ads to all global Threads users next week.
Meta explained that ad delivery will initially remain low for the coming months, suggesting that by 2027, we could see an ad experience similar to that on X.
This isn’t great news for users, as nobody likes seeing their feed clogged with ads. Still, it could be even worse news for X.
X relies on advertisers for its income, but since Elon Musk’s takeover, many have pulled their ads after they appeared next to far-right or anti-Semitic posts.
However, X’s massive user base means that leaving the platform cuts advertisers’ reach to millions of potential customers.
So far, Meta has avoided serious controversy on Threads; advertising on Threads is a safer platform for advertisers than X.
Meta has hammered home this point, highlighting that it will allow third parties to conduct independent audits of where ads will appear.
If more advertisers pull out of X in favor of Threads, we may see a substantial drop in X’s income, causing it to rely more heavily on its subscribers.
But if X manages to leverage its high web traffic to attract new users, we may see more drastic changes for X in 2026.
X is still popular, despite the controversies
It may seem bizarre that X retains its high web traffic despite serious controversies, such as Grok’s AI deepfakes.
However, there are no serious competitors to X on the web. It will be interesting to see whether Meta turns its efforts to the web after securing the future of Threads.
