Social Network X has defied expectations by posting a significant 76.3% year-over-year increase in global consumer spending on its mobile app, despite a decline in daily active users. According to data from app intelligence firm Appfigures, X's global consumer spending on iOS and Android reached $13.4 million for the period of January 1-20, 2025, up from $7.6 million during the same time in 2024.

The growth in consumer spending is attributed, in part, to the addition of xAI's Grok AI chatbot to X's app. The chatbot's integration led to obvious spikes in net revenue shortly after X began testing a free version of Grok in November 2024. The launch of a faster model and a new Grok button to the X app in mid-December 2024, as well as the introduction of a new image generation model on December 9, also contributed to the increase.

Another factor driving the growth in consumer spending is the addition of an NFL portal in late November, which aimed to increase sports engagement on the app. Sports is one of the most-discussed topics on X, and the portal's introduction likely boosted user adoption.

In the U.S., X saw a 61.4% growth in year-over-year consumer spending on iOS and Android, growing from $4.4 million from January 1-20, 2024, to $7.1 million during the same period in 2025. While global mobile consumer spending is up year-over-year, the monthly totals haven't always been on a steady climb. In some months, spending dropped, and in other months it climbed, with December seeing the highest total with $25.6 million.

The top in-app purchases on the X iOS app in January 2025 include the X Premium Monthly subscription ($11/mo.), followed by the X Premium Plus Monthly subscription ($30/mo.), X Premium Basic Monthly ($4/mo.), a subscription to Elon Musk's account directly ($4/mo.), and X Premium's Annual Subscription ($114.99/yr.).

Despite the jump in consumer spending, further data suggests that X may be losing active users. According to estimates from app intelligence provider Sensor Tower, X's U.S. and worldwide daily active users decreased in January 2025, with each figure down by roughly 13% compared with the same time last year. Year-over-year growth in monthly active users on X has also dipped slightly, Sensor Tower found.

X had more than 313 million worldwide mobile app MAUs (monthly active users) in the fourth quarter of 2024 and more than 300 million worldwide mobile app MAUs through January 2025 month-to-date, according to Sensor Tower's principal market insights manager, Jonathan Briskma. However, X did not respond to a request to share its own internal MAUs figure.

In contrast, daily active users on competing apps Instagram Threads and Bluesky jumped up more than 170% and 495%, respectively, driven by international expansions and the addition of several new features and functionality across both platforms. This growth has put pressure on X to revamp its strategy and regain user engagement.

The decline in active users raises questions about X's long-term sustainability and its ability to compete with rival social media platforms. As the company continues to focus on in-app revenue growth, it remains to be seen how it will address the decline in user engagement and adapt to the shifting social media landscape.