Social Media App X Is Struggling to Attract Users — But Another Once-Beloved Platform Is Making an Unexpected Comeback Agency executives say brands that have returned to X aren't spending as much on advertising.
By Amanda Breen •
Key Takeaways
- X has lost nearly 15 million users since Elon Musk's takeover.
- Meanwhile, instant messaging app Snapchat is experiencing major growth.
Elon Musk's Twitter takeover has been fraught from the beginning, and though the billionaire still claims to have big plans for the "everything app," now called "X," the numbers aren't adding up yet.
X is struggling to attract users and revive its advertising business after a major dip in revenue following Musk's acquisition, according to third-party data reported by The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, Snapchat, the social app known for its disappearing messages, is seeing significant user growth.
Related: Elon Musk Says X 'May Fail' Amid Competition, Ad Losses
In August, Musk posted that X saw records for "user-seconds" (a metric Musk uses alongside "unregretted user-minutes") in recent months, and in September, the company said it has 245 million daily active users compared to the 237.8 million Twitter had the last time it publicly filed financial results, per the outlet.
But X has also lost nearly 15 million users during Musk's tenure; the app's daily active users via mobile app declined by 16% in September compared with the month Musk took over, according to an analysis from research firm Sensor Tower.
Additionally, advertising, X's primary source of revenue, has taken a hit, with many large agency executives revealing there hasn't been a mass return to X and that returning brands aren't spending as much as they used to, per the WSJ.
According to Sensor Tower's data, X had 183 million daily active users on average in September compared to 10 million on Threads — and 385 million on Snapchat. That's right: The social app founded in 2011 and declared "dead" by major outlets in 2018 is experiencing an increase in revenue and users and trying to get them to make more in-app purchases, like clothing and concert tickets, Quartz reported last year.
Related: Elon Musk X to Charge New Users $1 to Post, Prove Not a Bot
And Snapchat's parent company, Snap, just revealed better-than-anticipated results for the third quarter, posting revenue of $1.19 billion, an increase of 5%, and a net loss of $368 million, or 23 cents per share, Variety reported.
