FOLLOW US

In the social media and tech worlds, the rebranding of Twitter to X continues to make headlines. This shift comes less than a year after businessman Elon Musk formally bought Twitter, promising to revolutionize the platform.

However, while Musk and other higher-ups at "X" continue to promote the rebrand, the consumer reaction remains largely less positive. Some folks, for instance, are still vowing to call the platform Twitter, notwithstanding the rebrand.

Then, there are the issues in San Francisco that emerged at the company's headquarters, upon trying to set up the "X" logo in person.

However, this may have only been the start of a very rocky road. Since the social media site formally traded the iconic bird for a white "X," its downloads on the App Store have plummeted.

More trouble brewing?

When Musk purchased Twitter-turned-X, he vowed to increase the platform's value and user base. However, ever since the transition to "X," its ranking on the list of "Top Downloaded" apps saw a notable dip to 54 after previously being at 35.

So far, the totally different look and vibe of the social media site are the factors being attributed to its major fall in downloads. Already, some users have stated the white X with a black background appears more suitable for a pornographic site than for a social media platform.

A future boot from the App Store?

As Twitter/X continues to suffer on the App Store, it may eventually cease to exist on the marketplace altogether.

While Musk recently announced that he plans to disable the block feature on "X," doing so would violate the terms for apps featured not just on the App Store, but also the Google Play Store.

Each of these marketplaces have regulations that dictate any app with user produced content on their platforms must have a feature that permits blocking. Both the App Store and Google Play Store cite the ability for users to block others as key defenses against abuse.

Stay tuned

Going forward, time will tell what the future of "X" holds.

So far, the rebrand is far from finished. Musk also maintains that he will introduce features that allow users to conduct banking and financial transactions on the platform.

Though if "X" continues to see a decline in downloads on the App Store, this will complicate Musk's ambitions to grow the platform in any longlasting capacity.