Genuine question: If the network is decentralized, how are they able to determine the amount of users on the system?

The article mentions opt-in usage reporting, but that would only indicate there’s around 115 million users actively reporting that they’re using it, right?

I think it moreso has to do with the fact that as soon as Fediverse networking became more popular, Meta immediately comes along and creates another social media platform that uses Fediverse as more of a flashy buzzword.

The point of the Fediverse seems to be “content where you want to see it, how you want to see it, when you want to see it”. Promoting a more open ecosystem of specially tailored instances for what an individual user wants as their content.

Meta comes along with Threads, the nearly perfect antithesis of what the Fediverse is. Immediately gobbling up users due to both brand recognition and by seizing a customer base fleeing Reddit trying to figure out what the Fediverse is and not wanting to “miss out” on their communities and content as it migrates here.

I’d recommend something like NewPipe instead. It also allows you to download the videos and can choose the video/audio quality before doing so.