Meta’s social media app Instagram Threads has overtaken X, formerly Twitter, in daily mobile usage as of January 7, 2026.

According to new data released by digital intelligence firm Similarweb, Threads recorded an estimated 141.5 million daily active users on mobile (iOS and Android), surpassing X, which stood at approximately 125 million daily mobile users over the same period.

Similarweb said the crossover reflects a steady, months-long rise in Threads’ mobile engagement, rather than a short-term spike.

Analysts tracking the platform noted that Threads has consistently narrowed the gap since late 2025, eventually pulling ahead as mobile usage on X continued to soften.

“Threads’ growth on mobile has been gradual but persistent,” Similarweb noted in their report, pointing to Meta’s ability to funnel users from Instagram and Facebook as a key advantage.

With Threads deeply embedded into Meta’s ecosystem, users can join conversations without rebuilding social networks from scratch, a factor that has helped sustain daily engagement.

X leads in Web and browser

While Threads now leads on mobile, X retains a commanding lead on the web. Similarweb estimates show X attracting about 145 million daily web visits, compared with roughly 8.5 million daily visits to Threads’ web platform.

This divergence highlights a growing split in how users interact with the two services: Threads as a mobile-first social feed, and X as a dominant desktop and browser-based destination.

Industry observers say the numbers illustrate a broader trend across social media, where mobile engagement is increasingly seen as the most valuable metric for advertisers, creators, and platforms alike.

Mobile users tend to check apps more frequently, even if for shorter sessions, giving platforms like Threads an edge in daily activity counts.

The milestone also sharpens the rivalry between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and X owner Elon Musk, whose platforms have taken increasingly different strategic paths.

While Meta has focused on integration and incremental feature expansion, X has leaned into product restructuring and subscription-based models.

Whether Threads can convert its mobile lead into long-term dominance remains uncertain. For now, data suggest that the balance of attention on smartphones is where most social media engagement now happens.