When Instagram launched Threads to take on Twitter, it immediately grew to a huge number of users almost overnight. That number has since dwindled and one of the big reasons could well be the lack of a web version. That, it seems, is changing.
With Threads only being available via an app on a phone, using it at a computer is impossible. That's less than ideal and now a new report claims that Instagram is getting ready to fix that oversight.
What's more, it might be about to do it very soon indeed.
Did you lose your thread?
That's according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal which claims a Thread website could launch within days. However, the report also notes that sources believe “launch plans aren’t final and could change.”
However, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri had said previously that the company was working on bringing Threads to a web browser and had suggested that there was a plan to start "using an early version internally for a week or two" as of last week.
Whether that means that Instagram's early testing has gone well and the wider launch is around the corner, we'll have to hang fire to see. Is it also possible that the WSJ report is with reference to internal testing rather than a global launch? It's possible, but one thing is clear — Threads needs that web version if it is really going to compete with Twitter, now known as X.
For those who don't yet have Threads, it's a free download from the App Store. You can sign in with your Instagram account and get started straight away with no need for waitlists and whatnot, too. The downside? It isn't available in the EU at all over privacy concerns, and it turns out that canceling an account once open is perhaps more tricky than it should be.
