Meta Platforms is set to roll out the web version on its new text-first social media platform Threads.
It aims to rebuild customer interest and gain an edge over X, formerly Twitter.
Threads, which crossed 100 million sign-ups for the app within five days of its launch in July, saw a decline in its popularity as users returned to the more familiar platform X after the initial rush.
David Carr, senior insights manager at Similarweb, said: “Thread’s user count peaked at roughly 49 million on July 7, the day after launch, and fell steadily to just over 11 million by July 29.”
Users will be able to post a thread, view their feed and interact with other people’s threads.
However, other aspects of the mobile app will not be available on the web initially.
For example, users won’t be able to edit their profile or send a thread to the direct messenger feature of Instagram.
Tama Leaver, professor of internet studies at Curtin University, Australia, said: “Meta are going to have to work to roll out a vastly improved search functionality to let users find topic-based communities to really draw back the crowd who are looking to replace Twitter,
“On that front, Meta’s reluctance to implement hashtags, especially as they’re already on Instagram, seems an odd choice when really that’s the single feature that’s most synonymous with X and the function that would most likely convince users to come back and give Threads a second look.”
Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram stated yesterday Threads will be rolled out over the next few days.
“We are rolling out Threads on web over the next few days and everyone’s excited.”
“Two small updates for Threads that are worth mentioning: we’re rolling out a new reposts tab on your profile so you can see all the threads you reposted in one place. We are also, based on your feedback, adding reposts to your following feeds.”
