Truth Social, the new social media platform started by former President Donald Trump, has seen explosive growth since launching less than a year ago. But in a sea of social apps, just how many people are using Truth Social today? What is its user base made up of? And can it maintain momentum going forward? Let‘s take a detailed look at the platform‘s user numbers and demographics in 2024.
Trump‘s Digital Maga Megaphone: The Origins of Truth Social
First, a quick recap on how Truth Social came to be. After Trump was permanently banned from Twitter in January 2021 following the U.S. Capitol riots, he announced plans to start his own social media platform that would provide an online haven for conservatives.
Truth Social emerged in February 2022 from Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), delivering the former president and his supporters their wished-for Twitter alternative. The app bills itself as a platform for "free speech" and an antidote to Big Tech "cancel culture."
In its first day after launch, Truth Social rocketed to the top of app store downloads before promptly crashing due to overwhelming demand. An Android version arrived seven months later in October 2022, allowing for greatly expanded reach beyond iPhone users.
Truth Social User Numbers: How Many People Are on the Platform?
So how many users does Truth Social have today?
Recent estimates peg the total number of registered Truth Social users at around 2 million as of early 2023. This is up from approximately 500,000 users when the app first debuted.
To put Truth Social‘s 2 million users in perspective:
- Twitter currently has over 300 million monthly active users
- Facebook has around 2 billion monthly active users
- YouTube has over 2 billion monthly logged-in users
So while Truth Social has seen impressive growth in under a year, its total user base remains dwarfed by the major social media giants.
However, among other alternative social platforms catering to conservative users, Truth Social has quickly grown to be among the largest:
- Parler has around 16 million users
- Gettr has around 6 million users
- Gab has around 800,000 users
- Rumble has around 36 million monthly active users
So in its niche, Truth Social is holding its own in terms of attracting users on both iPhone and Android devices. Its early growth has far outpaced other startups like Gettr. But it has yet to reach the established user base of a platform like Parler.
The Demographic Breakdown: Who‘s Using Truth Social?
When it comes to user demographics, most surveys and estimates point to Truth Social‘s audience skewing heavily Republican, conservative, older, and predominantly white. These groups made up Trump‘s core supporter base during his political career.
According to a March 2022 poll from Pew Research Center, 75% of Republican voters were aware of Truth Social‘s existence, while just 34% of Democrats were. Further, 81% of Trump 2020 voters had heard about the platform.
In terms of age, data from Similarweb in October 2022 showed the largest percentage of Truth Social users (20%) were 55-64 years old. Another 15.5% were 45-54 years old, and 14.4% were 35-44.
Regarding gender, analytics showed a 60% male and 40% female breakdown among Truth Social users in mid-2022.
Geographically, Truth Social use appears concentrated in red states that Trump carried in the 2020 election. Oklahoma, Wyoming, Alaska, Arkansas, and Mississippi had the highest concentrations of users relative to their populations.
This user profile aligns with what most market observers expected from a platform centered around Trump. But some note that Truth Social‘s ability to expand likely rests on its capability to diversify beyond only the former president‘s core base.
Tracking Truth Social‘s Growth Trajectory
In addition to total users, we can look at Truth Social‘s growth curve over its first year compared to other platforms‘ early trajectories:
- Within 9 months after launch, Facebook had 100 million users.
- Within 2 years after launch, YouTube had 100 million users.
- Within 2 years after launch, Twitter had 100 million users.
- Within 1 year after launch, Truth Social has around 2 million users.
Based on this initial trajectory, industry analysts estimate it could take 5-10 years for Truth Social to reach Twitter-level scale. But its growth has already far exceeded expectations for a niche platform.
Monthly app downloads show the progress as well:
- February 2022 – 170,000 downloads (rank #1 on App Store)
- March 2022 – 93,000 downloads
- April 2022 – 95,000 downloads
- May 2022 – 56,000 downloads
- June 2022 – 29,000 downloads
- October 2022 – 1,652,000 downloads (Android launch)
The mid-year slump aligns with Truth Social‘s absence from the Google Play store. The October spike highlights the impact of finally launching Android access, vastly expanding its potential user pool.
If Truth Social can maintain its Google Play ranking and continue pressuring Apple for full App Store promotion, its user base could steadily climb to rival more established conservative platforms.
Evaluating User Engagement on Truth Social
In addition to tracking raw user numbers, industry experts examine engagement metrics to gauge how appealing and "sticky" a given social media platform is. By these measures, the early results are not stellar for Truth Social.
According to April 2022 data from Similarweb, Truth Social ranked #28 among social media apps in the U.S. on total user time spent. Daily time spent per user averaged just 6.4 minutes, far below rivals like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok which topped 30 minutes.
However, newer platforms often take time to hook users‘ attention and build network effects. As Truth Social expands its user base, implements algorithmic feeds, adds notifications, enables friends/following, and rolls out new features, time spent per user would be expected to rise.
But a core challenge is that Truth Social lacks the vast diversity of voices and content of larger platforms. Its focus as an online home for Trump‘s base could hem future growth potential.
The Road Ahead: What Will Truth Social‘s Trajectory Be?
Looking ahead, there are a few key factors that could influence the future growth and direction of Truth Social:
Donald Trump‘s level of engagement: If Trump remains highly active, posting content daily, it will continue fueling user interest. But if his activity wanes, the app could struggle to retain users.
Content moderation: Truth Social promises lax moderation, but too much inflammatory speech could deter new signups. Its opaque policies remain under scrutiny.
Competition from Twitter: Now that Elon Musk has reinstated Trump‘s Twitter account, his time/attention could be divided across the two platforms. Some users may migrate back to Twitter.
Monetization challenges: Truth Social has made little ad revenue so far and TMTG reported a $3.7 million 1H 2022 loss. Profitability is key to funding expansion.
Legal/regulatory issues: Ongoing government probes into TMTG could hamper growth if they impose restrictions on Truth Social‘s operations.
The road from 2 million to 200 million users is never easy for a social media upstart. But if any platform has the built-in user base and profile to challenge the Big Tech giants, it may just be Trump‘s Truth Social. The coming months promise to reveal much more about the platform‘s trajectory and potential as it navigates the crowded social landscape.
