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Threads just graduated from the iPhone to the desktop

Interested in Threads but not using your iPhone all day? Threads for the web has officially arrived, and it makes for a decent web app on the Mac.

Meta went to war with Twitter two months ago, and Threads proved so viable that Twitter had to change its name to save face. Huh? That’s not why Twitter replaced all its branding with the letter X? Had me fooled.

Anyway, Threads took off at launch, racking up 100 million users with record breaking speed. Sure, active usage may have driven off a cliff, but expanding the platform from a mobile app to the every other internet-connected computer can’t hurt.

Personally, the end of my honeymoon with Threads directly correlates to the strain injury that started to develop in my hand from using the app too much on my phone. Phase 2 of treating Threads like a proper platform starts today with the newly launched desktop version.

The website is as barebones as the entirety of the social network, but the essential features from the mobile version have found their way onto the web.

For instance, you can toggle your timeline between algorithmic and chronological, and the website supports detecting light mode and dark mode. Threads.net is also a decent “progressive web app” on macOS 14 Sonoma. The upcoming version of the Mac operating system adds a new “Add to Dock” feature to Safari that works like what Google already offers on Chrome.

Legacy TweetDeck started out as my go-to example of how I’m using the new macOS Sonoma feature, but it died before the feature even got out of beta. iPad users who prefer avoiding iPhone-sized apps on the big screen can also appreciate Threads access on the web.

There’s still a looooong list of things to come for Threads. As publishers, we would appreciate the ability to log in with multiple accounts and automate how our stories get posted to Threads, for example.

For now, the newly launched web version will count as a major step forward. And yes, Twitter diehards, we know “no one cares about Threads anymore” already. Thanks for reading, anyway.

Follow 9to5Mac on Threads for the best experience, or me for the worst.

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