Meta’s Muse App Passes 10 Million US Downloads in Just 40 Days

Meta's AI companion app Muse has done something almost no non-game app has ever managed. According to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, reported by TechCrunch on October 20, 2026, Muse passed 10 million downloads in the United States within its first 40 days on the market. The total stands at 10.9 million downloads worldwide since its September debut, with 10.2 million of those in the US.

That puts Muse in rare company. Sensor Tower senior insights analyst Kara Lee said only 11 other apps have reached the same milestone in the same window, and the most recent before Muse was Meta's own Threads in July 2023. Almost all of the rest were mobile games. Disney+ is the only other non-game app on the list besides Threads. Downloads answer the first question for any new AI app, but the harder question is whether people keep coming back.

A launch powered by Meta's own machine

Muse did not arrive quietly. It launched on September 8, 2026, in the United States and Canada, and Meta has pushed it hard across its own apps. TechCrunch noted that Meta's family of apps now reaches 3.6 billion daily active users, which gives any new product a distribution channel most startups can only dream about.

Sensor Tower's data shows Meta allocated 39 percent of its total advertising spend to Muse in October, up from 23 percent in September. That push lifted Muse to the 21st largest brand in the US by advertising impressions this month, up from 73rd in September.

The comparison with rival AI apps is striking. In their first 40 days, Sensor Tower puts ChatGPT at 3.7 million US downloads, Grok at 500,000, and Claude at 200,000. Muse's 10.2 million is roughly triple ChatGPT's US figure for the same window.

There is a caveat worth keeping in mind. ChatGPT's often quoted figure of 15 million downloads in its first 40 days counts worldwide downloads, while Muse launched only in the US and Canada. The two totals are not directly comparable, and Muse's global figure of 10.9 million sits below ChatGPT's global mark. Still, on the US measure that Sensor Tower tracks consistently, Muse's start is the strongest of any AI app so far.

Retention looks better than rivals, at least for now

Downloads tell you how many people showed up. Retention tells you whether they stayed, and here Muse also looks strong. Sensor Tower estimates Muse kept 30 percent of users after seven days and 23 percent after 14 days. Its main AI competitors averaged 19 percent at seven days and 16 percent at 14 days, according to figures reported by 9to5Mac.

Daily usage is climbing too. Sensor Tower estimates Muse reached 2.5 million daily active users for the first time on October 16, up 15 percent from a week earlier.

Not every analyst is equally convinced. A BNP Paribas analyst cited in coverage put total downloads at more than 10.4 million but said Muse's 14-day retention trails ChatGPT's, a reminder that different measurement approaches can produce different rankings. Retention figures also depend on how each firm defines an active user, so the gap between Muse and its rivals should be read as a signal, not a final verdict.

The real test comes in the next few months, as launch spikes fade and users settle into habits. Threads showed how fast a Meta launch can grow, and also how hard it is to turn a record opening into a lasting daily habit. Muse faces the same challenge, plus a deeper trust question: it asks users to hand over personal tasks and conversations.

A privacy stumble in the same week

That trust question sharpened within days of the download milestone. According to reports, security researchers found thousands of shared Muse conversations discoverable through public web records, without any hacking involved. One report put the figure at more than 6,800 conversations. Meta reportedly paused the chat-sharing feature while it reviews the problem.

The episode is a useful warning for anyone using a new AI companion. Features that share or publish your chats can behave differently from what you expect, and a setting that looks private in the app may still leave content visible elsewhere. If you use Muse or any similar app, it is worth checking what sharing options you have switched on, and switching off anything you do not actively use.

None of this has slowed downloads yet, but privacy stories tend to travel further than download statistics. How Meta handles the sharing feature will shape whether early users keep trusting the app with personal tasks.

What Muse's start means for the AI race

Muse's launch says two things about the AI market in late 2026. First, distribution still decides who gets heard. Meta turned its existing audience and advertising budget into the fastest AI app launch in the US, something no independent lab has matched. Second, the contest is shifting from who has the smartest model to who can build a daily habit. Downloads are the opening move. Retention, daily use, and trust are the rest of the game.

OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google all have their own distribution advantages, from ChatGPT's brand to Android's reach. Meta's bet is that an assistant woven into apps people already open every day can win on convenience, even if it did not start with the strongest model reputation.

For users, the practical takeaway is simple. Muse is now one of the biggest AI apps in the US, and it will keep getting features and attention. Whether it becomes your main assistant depends on what it does for you week after week, not on how many people downloaded it in week one.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many downloads does Meta's Muse app have?

Sensor Tower estimates Muse reached 10.9 million downloads since its September 2026 debut, including 10.2 million in the United States, within its first 40 days. The figures were reported by TechCrunch on October 20, 2026.

How does Muse's launch compare with ChatGPT's?

In their first 40 days, Sensor Tower puts ChatGPT at 3.7 million US downloads, Grok at 500,000, and Claude at 200,000, against Muse's 10.2 million. ChatGPT's global figure of about 15 million for the same window is not directly comparable, since Muse launched only in the US and Canada.

Is Muse available outside the US and Canada?

Muse launched in the United States and Canada only. Meta has not announced a wider rollout date in the reports covered here, so users elsewhere will need to wait for an official expansion announcement.