A new market intelligence report suggests that Threads is now more popular than X on iPhone and Android, although X still has a strong overall lead when web usage is taken into account.
Separately, the controversy over Grok generating non-consensual explicit images – including CSAM – has intensified, as xAI is now being sued by the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children …
Threads more popular than X on mobile
TechCrunch cites data from Similarweb indicating that Threads now has more daily active users on mobile than X.
Similarweb’s data shows that Threads had 141.5 million daily active users on iOS and Android as of January 7, 2026, after months of growth, while X has 125 million daily active users on mobile devices.
This mostly appears to be a longer-term trend rather than a reaction to the controversy over Grok’s non-consensual image generation – though as Bluesky has also seen an increase in app installs over the past week or so, it’s likely that this is playing some role.
One likely factor in the growing popularity of Threads is that parent company Meta has been heavily promoting it on Instagram.
However, with web usage factored in, X retains a strong lead over its newer competitors.
Grok CSAM controversy intensifies
After xAI’s Grok chatbot has been found to be generating non-consensual semi-nude images of real individuals, including children, three US senators called on Apple and Google to temporarily remove both X and Grok from the App Store due to “sickening content generation.”
After neither company responded, two countries have blocked the Grok app, and a third is investigating whether the app is breaking the law. In the US, California’s Attorney General has also launched an investigation.
Now the mother of one of Elon Musk’s own children has filed a lawsuit, saying that she has been a victim of this and accusing the company of failing to address the problem. Writer and political strategist Ashley St Clair spoke to The Guardian, saying that one of the photos manipulated was taken when she was just 14 years old.
“I felt horrified, I felt violated, especially seeing my toddler’s backpack in the back of it,” St Clair said of an image in which she has been put into a bikini, turned around and bent over.
“It’s another tool of harassment. Consent is the whole issue. People are saying, well, it’s just a bikini, it’s not explicit. But it is a sexual offence to non-consensually undress a child.”
She said that despite the direct line she had to X, the company had failed to remove the image until it was contacted by The Guardian.
The manipulated image of her as a 14-year-old had been up for 12 hours by Monday afternoon. It and several other images highlighted by St Clair were finally removed after the Guardian sought comment from X.
Top comment by xeiteu
I've still yet to know anyone who uses threads apart from when other meta platforms trick them into crossposting.
After she spoke out, she was sent other examples, including an extremely graphic manipulated image of a six-year-old. Engadget posted a link to her lawsuit.
While xAI claims to have addressed the problem, multiple independent tests show that this isn’t true. All the company has done is blocked generation of explicit images in countries that have made it illegal, as well as limited the use of the feature on X to paid subscribers.
9to5Mac’s Take
It’s hard to understand why neither Apple nor Google has removed Grok from the App Store until this matter is addressed. Apple did not respond to an earlier request for comment.
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