Social media platform Mastodon has seen its active users drop more than 30% since its December peak following Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter.
Mastodon has 1.8 million active users according to its website, down from 2.5 million active users in early December when it became a popular Twitter alternative for liberals, according to the Guardian.
Mastodon is struggling to keep users engaged
The number of active users on Mastodon has dropped more than 30% and is continuing a slow decline
There were about 1.8 million active users in the 1st week of January, down from over 2.5m in early December https://t.co/sRGlIojmfC pic.twitter.com/PiPDJn9fZI
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) January 9, 2023
Mastodon had about 500,000 users before Musk’s Twitter takeover and subsequent controversies brought attention to the platform as an alternative, according to site data. (RELATED: Adam Schiff’s Office Asked Twitter To Ban Investigative Journalist, Docs Show)
It had a surge of users in late November, peaking at over 130,000 a day when Musk initially introduced Twitter Blue, his paid verification feature, according to The Guardian. Google Search data shows Mastodon first received a surge in interest when Musk initially considered buying Twitter in April 2022.
Twitter Blue charges users $8/month to receive a blue check verification symbol and premium features. Musk’s initial rollout of the paid feature generated mass confusion because impersonator accounts were mimicking large corporations and other public figures.
Mastodon is a non-profit, open-source network of independent servers founded in 2016. Its complicated structure has driven users away from the platform and made it difficult to import communities from other social networks, according to The Guardian.
The company has rejected more than five Silicon Valley investment opportunities to preserve its non-profit status, according to Financial Times. Mastodon is supported by sponsorships and Patreon subscriptions, its website shows.
Mastodon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.