Elon Musk's acquisition of X, formerly known as Twitter, has resulted in a significant decline in web and mobile users, according to data from market intelligence firm Similarweb.
In September, X's global website traffic experienced a year-over-year drop of 14%, with US traffic seeing a steeper decline of 19%. This trend was echoed in other countries, including the UK (-11.6%), France (-13.4%), Germany (-17.9%), and Australia (-17.5%).
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 24: A photo illustration of the new Twitter logo on July 24, 2023 in London, England. Elon Musk has revealed today a new logo for Twitter, which constitutes the letter 'X' as part of a rebrand of the company.
User Decline in Elon Musk's Twitter Era
Mobile performance in the US also suffered, with a year-over-year decline of 17.8% in combined monthly active users on iOS and Android.
These numbers reflect a consistent downturn in X's traffic throughout the year. Compared to the first nine months of 2023 to the same period in 2022, web traffic dropped by 11.6% in the US and 7% globally, while mobile app usage in the US experienced a 12.8% decline.
Despite this decline, there was a notable uptick in traffic to Elon Musk's profile and posts, with a remarkable 96% increase year-over-year in September.
This decline in user engagement is not unique to X, as other major social networks have also reported negative comparisons. In aggregate, traffic to the top 100 social networks and communities tracked by Similarweb experienced a 3.7% year-over-year decrease in September.
Musk's contentious relationship with the media may further impact X's utility as a news source, according to Similarweb. This has also reduced Twitter's significance as a traffic source for publishers.
Over the past three years, the New York Times website has seen a substantial decrease in traffic referrals from Twitter, dropping from 3-4% to less than 1%.
Musk's decision to acquire Twitter in 2022 has proven to be a complex endeavor, marked by legal disputes and changing intentions. While Twitter, now X, has faced challenges under Musk's ownership, no significant exodus of users to potential competitors has been observed.
X Declining Traffic
Although several leading social networks have experienced declining traffic, X's performance has notably worsened in recent months. While not precipitous, this decline forms part of an overall downward trend.
While the X website remains among the most visited social network domains, the X app lags behind other social apps in mobile usage.
Elon Musk's presence on the platform has attracted considerable attention, with increased traffic to his profile and posts since taking ownership. Despite controversies and policy changes, the X audience has dwindled but not disappeared entirely, according to Similarweb.
Elon Musk has outlined his vision for X to evolve into an "everything app" encompassing e-commerce and financial transactions, expanding beyond social media. The success of this transformation remains to be seen as X continues on its current trajectory of slow decline.
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