Bry Editor-July 10th, 2023.
The Threads app launched by Instagram as a rival to Twitter has seen more than 100 million users sign up in less than five days, data tracking websites said on Monday, beating the record set by artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT for the fastest-growing consumer app.
Threads has not yet launched in Europe due to compliance issues with confidentiality of personal data laws that are tougher in Europe than elsewhere.
While ChatGPT took two months to hit the 100-million-user mark and video-sharing app TikTok took nine months, Instagram itself took two and a half years to reach the same mark after its 2010 launch.
To enroll for Threads, subscribers must first enrol in Instagram.
Musk, who also serves as the boss of Tesla and SpaceX, has also alienated many users by introducing charges for previously free services and allowing banned right-wing accounts back on the platform.
Several rivals have emerged, but most are niche platforms without the capacity to grow at the necessary scale to dethrone Twitter.
Threads is finding it easier because it is linked to Instagram, which has more than one billion regular users.
Online data service Quiver Quantitative reported that the app passed 100 million users at 07:00 GMT on Monday.
Musk has threatened to sue Meta for stealing trade secrets and intellectual property, claims denied by the company, which also owns Facebook and WhatsApp.
Musk is locked in a rivalry with Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, with the two men calling each other out for a cage fight recently.
Sources: News Agencies via Al Jazeera.
