Web version of Meta's Threads set to launch this week

The awaited web version of Threads, Meta's competitor to X (previously known as Twitter), is scheduled for an early-week launch, according to The Wall Street Journal. The absence of a web version has been a notable gap since the inception of this micro-blogging social media platform.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, had previously announced the company's efforts to introduce this feature, along with enhanced search capabilities (which currently only permits searching for usernames on the platform). Zuckerberg mentioned that this update would be ready within "the next few weeks."

Image credit: Threads

However, sources cited by WSJ caution that the precise "launch plans aren't finalised and might undergo changes." Adam Mosseri, who heads the Threads project, revealed that Meta has been conducting internal testing of an early version for a brief period, acknowledging that further refinement is necessary before a broader release.

Fall in weekly active users 

Threads entered the scene as a somewhat rudimentary counterpart to Twitter just around six weeks ago. It swiftly surpassed 100 million users and drew the attention of celebrities and brands alike. 

Despite the constant improvements in the platform, reports suggest that Threads have lost more than 80 per cent of the active users from its platform since its launch. According to Similarweb, data from the Android Threads app indicates that the total number of weekly active users has fallen to 10.3 million from a peak of 49.3 million.

However, certain essential features were conspicuously absent, which Meta has gradually been incorporating. Recent enhancements include the introduction of a follow feed and the ability to validate a link through a Mastodon profile. 

This development suggests that Meta might be placing some genuine focus on integrating with the decentralised social network protocol, Activity Pub.