Meta’s Threads begins rolling out on the web, as Zuckerberg takes more direct aim at Elon Musk’s X

The Meta CEO announced in early August that the company was working on a web version of Threads and a search feature.

Advertisers and influencers have previously told Threads it needs more features to compete with X.

It has started rolling out its Twitter clone, Threads, on the web, allowing users to access it from their PCs, which launched last month. Currently, Threads.net only shows a link to download the mobile app and is not available to everyone.

The Meta website version of Threads will be released to the public in the coming days, according to a company spokesperson.

Meta said it will be improved over the next few weeks to look more like the mobile app.

Threads was quickly embraced by users after its launch in July, but its growth and engagement dropped after its limitations became apparent the following week. In early August, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company was developing a web version of Threads as well as a search function.

The Threads app needs more features like a search tool and the ability to access it from desktop computers to be a serious competitor to X, formerly known as Twitter. On X, power users and influencers often use the desktop version of the app to share content and comment on posts.

With new brand safety tools, X is attempting to win back advertisers by making them more comfortable with running ads on the service. Since Tesla CEO Elon Musk took control of X in October, several nonprofit organizations and researchers have documented an increase in hate speech and racist content. The company disputes these claims.

Despite Zuckerberg telling analysts on an earnings call that Threads is “quite optimistic,” Meta does not plan to monetize the app until it has more traction.