Is X all of the sudden seeing a surge in downloads, and a possible resurgence in public recognition?
The platform has been shedding traction for the reason that title change from Twitter, with its official utilization knowledge displaying a big decline in energetic customers in Europe (the one area that it nonetheless shares knowledge for), down 15% since Elon Musk acquired the app.
However now, below new Head of Product Nikita Bier, X is claiming that it’s seeing a surge in downloads of late, with the app claiming that it noticed probably the most first-time downloads in its historical past final week, together with pre-X occasions.
That’s additionally mirrored in third social gathering knowledge, with Similarweb’s chart for X downloads displaying a giant spike in Google Play Retailer rankings.
Sensor Tower reveals an analogous spike in App Retailer rankings, which comes after Musk threatened authorized motion towards Apple for what he claimed was a deliberate effort to suppress X’s rankings in its charts.
And that’s not all. Bier has additionally reported that X is gaining traction in Europe. And with Musk additionally reporting that X is seeing round 600 million month-to-month energetic customers, up from 500 million in 2023, the numbers do appear to recommend that X could also be gaining favor as soon as once more.
Or is it?
Based on Similarweb, the sudden spike in X’s rankings is extra possible as a consequence of dialogue across the homicide of right-wing media persona Charlie Kirk than they’d be reflective of a broader pattern.
Similarweb knowledge reveals that X’s day by day energetic customers rose 5.6% during the last week within the U.S., and a pair of.2% worldwide, whereas its app retailer rankings have elevated barely, by way of broader averages, for the reason that incident.
So X is getting extra consideration on account of elevated dialogue in relation to this occasion, however typically phrases, there hasn’t been any sustained spikes in utilization consequently.
As such, it’s inconceivable to say that X is regaining recognition at this stage, with the numbers solely spiking within the brief time period, and never extending via to app utilization.
That’s to not say that X is doing considerably worse both, although as you’ll be able to see within the above chart, the broader pattern is that X utilization is declining, primarily based on Similarweb’s estimates.
Basically, it’s too early to inform whether or not X is gaining traction as a consequence of modifications carried out since Bier took over the pinnacle of product position, which is what he appears to be suggesting, with X’s official utilization numbers set to inform the story round precise utilization.
And X should report its EU utilization figures once more subsequent month, below its DSA reporting obligations, and that would give us a greater indication of how, precisely, the app is positioned by way of recognition and utilization.
