--- title: "Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter Killer Is One of the Fastest Growing Apps Ever" description: "Instagram's freshly-minted Twitter rival Threads is officially the most rapidly downloaded app in history, with over 70 million users." date: "2023-07-07" modified: "2023-07-07" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mark-zuckerbergs-twitter-killer-is-one-of-the-fastest-growing-apps-ever" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "mark zuckerberg" - "Meta" - "social media" - "the digest" --- # Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter Killer Is One of the Fastest Growing Apps Ever ![Instagram's freshly-minted Twitter rival Threads is officially the most rapidly downloaded app in history, with over 70 million users.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Threadheads Rise Instagram's freshly-minted Twitter rival [Threads]() is officially the most rapidly downloaded app in history. As [*The New York Times* reported]() on Thursday, the "Twitter killer" had been downloaded over 30 million times by that morning — just a day after it was made available to the public on Wednesday. OpenAI's ChatGPT, which previously held the record for the [fastest-growing app ever](), was downloaded a comparatively measly one million times in its first five days on the market. "Feels like the beginning of something special," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company owns Messenger and WhatsApp in addition to Facebook and Instagram, [wrote in a Threads post](). But the success hasn't stopped there. By Friday morning the app reached over 70 million signups. "70 million sign ups on Threads as of this morning," a presumably very happy Zucko [wrote](). "Way beyond our expectations." ## Zucko W We're sure the success of Meta's Twitter rival isn't sitting well with Twitter owner and billionaire Elon Musk, whose company has already [threatened to sue Meta]() for allegedly copying his platform. That said, Threads' immediate success seems to hinge on several factors, not the least of them being the fact that [Twitter's infrastructure is actively crumbling]() as the result of Musk's [many missteps](). In a big way, this is a mess of Twitter's own making, allowing Zuckerberg to swoop in. Meta's app is only one of several Twitter alternatives — Twitter founder [Jack Dorsey's Bluesky app]() included — that have gained popularity in recent months as a growing number of disgruntled Twitter users seek to jump ship. Of course, [Meta's already-massive hold]() on the social media landscape plays a major role in Threads' growth, too. Between Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Meta has a stronger footprint in the marketplace than any company in the world. And because Threads is an Instagram app, Instagram users were essentially able to migrate their existing followings over to the new, text-based platform without a hitch. In any case, cheers to Zuck, who — as his [wildly expensive metaverse vision]() seemingly continues to [die on the vine]() — has certainly been sniffing around for a win. Has anybody checked in on Musk? **More on Threads' big week:** [*Furious Elon Musk Is Threatening to Sue Meta for Ripping off Twitter*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()