Threads has been adding and improving features based on user feedback. NurPhoto/Getty Images
Threads users who’ve been clamoring for a web edition of Meta’s new social network will soon get their wish. In a Threads post published Tuesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed himself in front of a computer screen working on the Threads website. In the post, Zuckerberg said that this was “actual footage of me building Threads for web. Rolling out over the next few days.”
Also: The best Twitter alternatives of 2023: Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, and more
An email sent to ZDNET from Meta spokesperson Christine Pai said that the new logged-in website will let you post, view your feed, and interact with posts, all from your desktop. Pai added that the Threads team has also been striving to bring the website up to parity with the mobile app and will be adding more functionality to the site in the coming weeks.
One image of the new Threads web version shows a login screen asking for your username and password.
Another image displays the standard Threads feed with the ability to view and react to posts as well as write and submit your own posts.
Launched in early July, Threads has been Meta’s attempt to offer a Twitter-like (now X-like) experience but without the turmoil that CEO Elon Musk brings to the platform. People eager to find a less chaotic service flocked to the new social network, turning it into the fastest-growing app ever, winning more than 100 million new users in less than a week.
But Thread users in search of a saner Twitter quickly found key elements missing, among them a working website. Fully functional only as iOS and Android apps, Threads has offered a web version but one in which you’re able to only read posts. And even then, the process is clumsy as you have to enter the handle of the specific account whose posts you want to view.
Due in part to the lack of certain features, particularly website access, the number of Threads users and the time spent each day on the service have plummeted since the initial rush. After peak volume on July 7, the number of active daily users fell by 70% as of July 26, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. And from July 7 to August 7, the volume of users dropped by 79%, according to web analytics firm Similarweb.
Also: Bluesky vs. Threads vs. Mastodon: If you leave Twitter, where will you go?
Plus, people aren’t hanging around Threads as long as they did initially. The average amount of daily time spent using the app started at around 14 minutes, or almost 21 minutes in the US. By August 7, that number had dropped to just three minutes.
Threads has been gradually adding and improving features based on user feedback. In late July, Meta unveiled a Following feed that displays posts only from the accounts you follow and in chronological order. Previously, your feed could only show posts from random accounts along with those you follow.
Also: 5 things to know about Meta’s Threads app
Other recent improvements include an option to translate a post into one of several supported languages and a follow button next to each of your followers so you can more easily follow them back.
Beyond a functioning website, there are other items on the to-do list for Threads, including an ability to search for posts, a hashtag system, an edit button, and a version for tablets like the iPad. But with the working website one of the most requested features, we’ll see if people who left Threads or haven’t signed up in the first place are more motivated to join the network and boost those declining user numbers.
