In recent months, a new social media contender has emerged with a formidable force—Meta’s Threads. While initially perceived as an underdog in the sprawling universe of social platforms, data indicates that Threads is rapidly climbing the ranks, especially on mobile devices. With approximately 115 million daily active users in June 2025—an impressive 128% year-over-year growth—it is clear that Threads is not merely a fleeting trend but a serious threat to established giants. Meta has succeeded in creating a mobile-first environment that resonates with users, focusing on an intuitive experience streamlined for smartphones, the primary device for most social media engagement. This surge highlights a pivotal shift: social networks that prioritize mobile are gaining ground swiftly, and Threads’s success underscores that point strongly.
What differentiates Threads isn’t merely in its growth figures but in the strategic focus on mobile engagement. Unlike traditional platforms often heavily weighted on web traffic, Threads has concentrated on optimizing its mobile app, which naturally appeals to the daily habits of users. Its explosive, nearly doubling user base, showcases an acute understanding of modern social media consumption—fast, accessible, and predominantly mobile. This attitude offers Meta a tangible advantage as it leverages its extensive existing infrastructure to deliver seamless, engaging experiences that are difficult for competitors to replicate quickly.
Comparing Titans: The Shift in User Engagement and Strategy
Despite Threads’s meteoric rise on mobile, X still maintains a significant lead in overall user numbers, particularly on the web. In June 2025, X’s web visits surpassed 145 million daily, dwarfing Threads’s modest 6.9 million. This discrepancy indicates that X retains a more substantial presence in browser-based engagement, possibly a vestige of its earlier dominance as a web-centric platform. However, the web metrics are less instructive for future growth, which increasingly hinges upon mobile adoption.
X’s stagnation — marked by a decline in annual growth by over 15% — hints at a plateau in its user expansion. Its current momentum seems to be rooted in the established user base and web traffic, but this might not be sustainable if younger, mobile-preferred audiences gravitate toward Threads and similar platforms. Meanwhile, Bluesky, despite its impressive growth rate of over 370%, remains a niche with a small active user base, primarily appealing to a tech-savvy, open-web community rather than mass adoption. Its potential lies in its innovative approach to decentralization, but until it broadens its appeal beyond niche enthusiasts, it may struggle to challenge the mainstream.
Meta’s Threads, on the other hand, benefits from a robust ecosystem, massive user base, and strategic platform integration—elements that foster user retention and growth. Its focus on mobile-first design precisely targets the habits of modern users, helping it narrow the gap with X on daily mobile engagement in key markets like the U.S. This trend suggests Threads’s trajectory isn’t just about immediate numbers but about transforming into a primary social hub that could rival or even overtake X’s existing dominance in the near future.
The Future of Social Competition: A Battle for Dominance
What makes Threads’s ascension particularly noteworthy is the implication for the broader social media landscape. For years, X has held a position of influence through a combination of web dominance and a loyal user base under Elon Musk’s leadership. Yet, in the age of mobile dominance, its lagging performance on app-specific metrics points to vulnerabilities. If Threads continues to innovate and capitalize on its mobile success, it could reshape the competitive landscape, redirecting advertising dollars and user attention away from X and towards Meta’s new platform.
Furthermore, the evolving user sentiment around Bluesky indicates that loyalty is fragile and heavily influenced by platform policies and ideological leanings. Bluesky’s initial surge post-election was driven by political protests, but waning enthusiasm suggests that to sustain growth, social networks must foster a sense of community, stability, and innovation that resonates beyond transient political tides. In contrast, Threads’s focus on usability, integration, and a seamless experience positions it as a more resilient player, capable of captivating users for the long haul.
In essence, the social media race is no longer solely about numbers; it’s about the user experience, platform strategy, and adaptability. Meta’s conscious effort to target mobile users and optimize engagement could soon eclipse traditional metrics, proving that a platform’s true strength lies in the engagement that happens right in users’ pockets. As the battle for social media supremacy intensifies, the key question remains: who will be the future king of the mobile era? Based on current trends, it’s increasingly clear that the throne might soon belong to Threads.