Does Threads Have a Web Version?

The social media landscape is expanding with the arrival of Threads, Meta’s answer to the increasingly complicated and controversial Twitter. While Twitter reigned supreme for a long while, policy shifts under Elon Musk like making account verification paid and limiting the number of tweets users can read at a time have left it vulnerable to a competitor.

Enter Threads, which has immediately started creating waves because of its functionality with Instagram and its ability to give those who’ve become dissatisfied with Twitter someplace else to go. However, it’s not all wine and roses over in the Meta camp. There’s one big feature that the app is missing: is Threads adding a web version? Keep reading to find out and learn why that’s so important.

Many Threads users have already questioned the app’s lack of a web version. Other social media apps, including Twitter, can be accessed and updated by going to their websites. In contrast, the Threads website doesn’t exist yet—as of July 2023, it’s merely a placeholder that directs people to download the Threads app.

Making things more confusing is Threads.com, an unrelated company that touts itself as a rival to Slack that’s now gotten so much traffic that a disclaimer is up on its homepage.

A website wouldn’t sound like such a big deal given how frequently most people use their phones, but it actually is. Every other major app has a web counterpart, so by not rolling that option out at launch, Threads is automatically a step behind other platforms.

There are many reasons why someone would want a desktop version. Maybe they’re uploading old vacation photos they found on their computer. Perhaps it’s easier for them to access the app on web rather than stop and find their phone.

Whatever the reason, people are already asking if Threads is adding a web version. There’s no official statement yet from Meta about whether or not web functionality is planned. However, the company’s other apps Facebook and Instagram both have web versions, so it would be truly shocking if Mark Zuckerberg’s company doesn’t roll out a Threads web option at some point.

In fact, it may have to in order to accomplish its goal of toppling Twitter.

Threads has plenty of momentum now because it’s the new app on the block and because of the growing dissatisfaction with Twitter. Another huge plus is the automatic connection with Instagram, which means that Threads users can immediately follow and be followed by the same folks they’re in contact with on Instagram. They don’t have to waste time adding friends or telling followers where to find them.

But Threads can’t replace Twitter overnight. Twitter claims to have 330 million users, and even if that number decreases now that it has a direct rival to contend with, that’s a big user base. And if Threads doesn’t create a web version, that’s a whole section of the audience that it won’t be able to attract.

It’s still early days in the Twitter vs. Threads war, but a web version is a must if the new app wants to continue to grow.

Hopefully, a web version of Threads will debut before the end of the year. Users have signaled their interest in one and Meta has every reason (or 300 million of them!) to give people what they want. Audiences should stay tuned to Meta’s website for potential product updates, as that will likely be the first place web functionality is announced.