Hands-on with Threads on the web: Is it finally a Twitter/X killer?

It’s finally here! Threads, an app by Instagram, is now available on the web. Almost two months after it first launched, users can enjoy this new social media on another platform rather than their iPhone or Android devices. So far, this is the good and the bad about Threads on the web.

The good

As you can imagine, the best thing about Threads on the web is that you can finally post and see what your friends are doing on your computer instead of checking your iPhone/Android app every time. Surely, the Instagram team will improve this UI in the coming weeks, but it already looks pretty solid.

First of all, I like how the web version feels clean, with the posts in the middle of the page. Currently, you can:

• Write your posts
• Like and repost
• Search for a user
• See your profile
• Switch between light and dark mode
• Switch between preferred feed

Everything is very responsible, and it already feels so much better having the option to scroll through Threads on the web rather than checking my iPhone every once in a while.

Turn Threads into a web app on macOS Sonoma

If you are running macOS Sonoma, you can turn Threads into a web app. When you open the social media on Safari, you can select “File” in the upper left corner and then choose “Add to Dock.”

When it’s available in the dock, you can rename it and even change its icon. Threads user Parker Ortolani notes that the current one available is low-res, so you can switch to a hi-res icon following his tip here.

Using Threads as a web app makes it almost like using the former Twitter for Mac app. Those were the days.

The bad

Image source: José Adorno for BGR

As a former hardcore Twitter user, I still miss many features – and I think Threads will eventually bring them in the coming months. But let’s go with the basics:

• Trending Topics-like feature
• Hashtag support
• Follow topics instead of people
• The web version currently doesn’t support quoting a post
• Tweetdeck-like feature
• In-app DM feature
• Close Friends
• Pinned posts
• Muted words
• Polls
• Drafts

That said, we can already call Threads on the web an improvement.

Unfortunately, not yet. It’s not in just a couple of months that you build a community that already existed for a decade and a half on another platform. If you are like me and stopped using Twitter/X due to the latest changes, you’ll discover that Threads looks way better now – and the web version could help its numbers grow.

But as in any new platform, things will still take a while to look as good or similar as we were used to enjoying in a different social media.

That said, Threads is way more enjoyable now, and you can try the new website here.