Meta Muse Downloads Drop 8.1% Week-Over-Week as Hunterbrook Capital Takes Short Position

Hunterbrook Capital Bets Against Meta as Muse AI Agent Shows Signs of Cooling

Hunterbrook Capital disclosed a Meta short position on Friday, betting that early enthusiasm for Meta Muse has outpaced actual usage trends1

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. The investment firm revealed its position alongside a Hunterbrook Media report analyzing alternative data from TickerTrends, an alternative-data provider that tracks app performance metrics2

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. The data points to a marked deceleration in adoption for Meta's flagship AI application, raising questions about whether market valuations have run ahead of operational realities.

Muse Downloads Slowing After Initial Launch Surge

Alternative data signals Muse cooling, with downloads averaging approximately 165,000 per day during the seven-day period ending October 7, representing an 8.1% decline from roughly 180,000 the previous week1

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. Daily downloads reached around 170,000 on October 6, marking a 21.1% drop from the September 24 peak of about 215,0001

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. User reviews also contracted sharply, with TickerTrends counting 4,716 Android and iOS reviews in the seven days through October 7, down 11.6% from the prior week1

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. iOS reviews specifically dropped 22.5% during the same period, suggesting declining user engagement across platforms.

Daily Active User Growth Decelerates Sharply

While daily active users for the Muse AI agent continue rising, the pace of user adoption has slowed dramatically. TickerTrends data showed worldwide Muse DAUs reached 2,730,919 on October 6, the highest reading recorded1

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. However, the slowdown in the adoption of Muse becomes apparent when examining net daily additions. The platform averaged about 198,000 new users per day from September 15 to September 22, but growth decelerated to approximately 87,000 daily additions the following week1

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. By the seven days through October 6, net daily user growth had slowed further to about 74,000, representing a 62.4% reduction from the initial surge2

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. This deceleration in AI adoption trends mirrors patterns seen with other Meta products like Threads, though Threads launched globally and experienced even steeper user losses after its debut.

Third-Party Platform Restrictions Limit Muse Functionality

Beyond slowing metrics, the Muse AI agent faces functional barriers as major websites restrict its capabilities. TickerTrends tracks user reports of third-party platform restrictions, with Amazon.com, Costco Wholesale, and Netflix among the sites limiting what Muse can do1

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. In September, Amazon confirmed it blocked Muse from shopping for customers, significantly limiting one of the agent's core promised features1

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. The agent was designed to send email, book travel, and shop using its own computer and browser in the cloud, but these restrictions undermine its utility for users.

Data Privacy Concerns Shadow Muse's Launch

Hunterbrook Media first investigated Muse last month over data privacy concerns, alleging the agent could be prompted to compile lists of Facebook and Instagram accounts tied to vulnerable groups, including undocumented immigrants, transgender public school teachers, and women who reported ordering abortion pills in states with bans1

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. Hunterbrook Capital stated it was not short NASDAQ:META when that initial report ran but took the position after the decline in Muse downloads and usage data emerged1

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. These privacy vulnerabilities add another layer of scrutiny to an already challenging launch environment.

Mark Zuckerberg's Vision Meets Market Reality

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called Muse "the centerpiece of our vision for what we're building" at the company's event last month, positioning the AI agent as central to Meta's strategic direction1

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. The agent rose to the top of the U.S. App Store and Google Play free-app charts following its launch, and Meta added approximately $200 billion in market value during the initial excitement1

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. However, market participants will now monitor whether these early alternative data trends materialize in Meta's upcoming third-quarter financial results2

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. META stock traded down 0.41% at $717.95 following Hunterbrook's disclosure, slipping below $718 shortly after the report published around 1:30 p.m. ET on Friday1

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. Despite the short position disclosure, shares fell less than 0.3%, suggesting investors remain largely unperturbed by the data as Meta stock has risen almost 10% in the past month2

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