Here's Why Meta's Threads Website Version Will Such Be a Big Deal

Threads is turning into the anti-Twitter, adding features and becoming more accessible by the week. 

Meta's Threads now has a web version, so you don't need to install the app on your phone. This is a big deal for accessibility and privacy and for anyone who cannot or prefers not to use an app. Combined with its promises to make Threads interoperable with other open micropublishing platforms, it looks like a new direction for Meta. 

"Having a web version of popular social networks is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, a web version allows users to access the platform from any device with an internet connection, including desktops, laptops, and tablets," editor and technology researcher Jason Wise told Lifewire via email. "Additionally, web versions often offer a more inclusive experience for users with disabilities or specific accessibility needs. They can utilize assistive technologies like screen readers or keyboard navigation to access the platform's features and content. By providing web versions, social networks can foster a more diverse and inclusive user community."

Threads Web vs App

Previously, Threads on the web was pretty much a way to view somebody's profile. You could see posts, but you could not reply to or favorite those posts. Now, it's mostly the same as the app version, with a few exceptions. You cannot edit your profile, for example.

Why does this matter? For one, not everybody can or wants to download an app. In the EU, for example, the Threads app is completely unavailable, so the web is the only way to read posts. I'm in the EU, and I can still only access the read-only version of the site, but this can be bypassed easily on the web with a VPN or similar. 

"Personally, I find web versions more convenient for Threads, Instagram, and Twitter as they offer a broader range of accessibility, smoother navigation, and fewer data-heavy app requirements. Dedicated social media apps often prioritize ad revenue and habit tracking, while web versions can offer a more user-centric experience," music teacher and online publisher Eduardo Perez told Lifewire via email.

The browser is also more private for users of Safari on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, at least, thanks to their built-in privacy protections and the ability to install your own content blockers. iOS and macOS also use iCloud Private Relay, which hides your IP address and browsing activity in Safari but does not offer the same protections in apps, even using in-app browsers to view links.

Speaking of in-app browsers—how you will view most links when using apps like Facebook, Twitter, and so on—they have their own privacy risks. In-app browsers can use their own or third-party trackers and can even track where you tap on the screen or inject Javascript into web pages, which can modify the contents of those pages.

In general, it's good advice not to use any in-app browser unless you really trust the developer or vendor. Instead, always opt to open links in Safari or whichever browser you trust. 

Accessibility and Convenience

Another advantage to using Threads in the browser is accessibility. Whereas many of your phone's built-in accessibility features—VoiceOver, the iPhone's screen reader, for example—can work with any text, objects, or images, other accessibility features are only available in the browser or our views. On Apple platforms, that includes the Safari Reader feature, which simplifies a website into beautifully laid-out text and images, making it not only look better but much easier to read. 

And while this is not specific to Threads, using the web means you can use many more tools to slice and dice a service's offerings. 

"From a business owner's perspective (an online business, specifically), I vastly prefer to use social media accounts from a browser. In fact, since Instagram doesn't give you that option, we really haven't built that account at all. For Twitter, we used to use TweetDeck until Twitter absorbed that into their parent domain," publisher, educator, and professional social media user Bobby Kittleberger told Lifewire via email. 

Between this quite good website and the ongoing plans to make Threads interoperable with Mastodon and other ActivityPub services, it looks like Facebook might be on the way to beating Twitter, even if it never manages to achieve the vibe that made Twitter so good before the current ownership.