Meta is gearing up to launch a web version of its Threads app later this week.
The move by Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg comes as the company is trying to stay competitive with rival social media platform Twitter (which Elon Musk recently rebranded as X) and recapture excitement for the text-first social media app following reports of dwindling interest and user activity, The Wall Street Journal reported.
By introducing a web version of the app, Threads will be able to cast a wider net over its target audience, said Sam Saliba, former global brand marketing lead at Instagram.
“A web-based version of Threads would be a significant advantage for Meta in its ongoing rivalry with X. It would give the company a wider reach, more features, and better data collection capabilities,” Saliba told the WSJ.
The Threads app debuted in July as a text-first social media platform designed to appeal to people who felt frustrated or dissatisfied with the direction Musk was taking Twitter, which he bought for $44 billion in late 2022, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Despite the Threads app reaching 100 million downloads in only five days, time spent on the platform has cratered since its release. The average time spent on the app fell by roughly 85% between July 7 and August 7, according to software development and data aggregation firm SimilarWeb.
In his rush to get something on the market that could rival Twitter, Zuckerberg reportedly overlooked many basic components that drive engagement and long-term growth.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, explained the circumstances in a Threads post last month, writing, “It’s always a delicate balance between features and time. We wanted to get more done, but we’re starting to worry that the window of opportunity was closing on us.”
Since the launch, Meta has released several quality-of-life updates to address the lack of engagement, but a desktop version of the Threads app has been one of the most requested features.
According to Mosseri, a web version of Threads is already in the testing phase. Others familiar with the company’s plans anticipate the release of the web version later this week, barring any unforeseen changes.
“It’s a little bit buggy right now, you don’t want it just yet,” Mosseri told the WSJ. “As soon as it is ready, we will share it with everybody else.”
Unlike Twitter, which uses hashtags to enable cross-reference communication of content by topic or theme, Mosseri said Meta is focusing on building out Threads’ search functionality.
“We’re much more focused on the web, on search, which I think can meet a lot of the needs of hashtags,” Mosseri said, according to the WSJ.
It is currently unclear if a desktop version of Threads will be able to generate enough interest and excitement to get people back on the social media platform.
