Meta has started bringing its Threads API online, but it will still be some time before it is widely accessible to developers. The company has started testing the new developer tool with a small number of companies, Meta engineer Jesse Chen shared on Threads.
Chen’s post was first discovered here. Tech Crunchis currently in ‘beta’ stage, but could be released more widely ‘by the end of June’. The initial group of companies testing the beta version of the API include social media management platforms Sprinklr, Hootsuite, Social News Desk, and Sprout Social. Meta is also working with tech news aggregator Techmeme and live video platform Grabyo. For now, it looks like these services will primarily be able to post content to threads via the API, but Chen said there are also “plans to enable reply moderation and insight features.”
Using an API can help Threads attract more publishers and power users who often rely on third-party software for publishing and analysis. Instagram’s Adam Mosseri has previously expressed some reluctance to give publishers their attention. His “concern” was that a dedicated API “means more publisher content, but not as much creator content.” (Mosseri said he didn’t want to “amplify news on the platform.”)
But among users, Threads is starting to look more and more like a viable alternative to X, and offering professional-level tools is a great way to get publishers and brands to post more on the platform. Using an API could potentially help the company’s plans to support interoperability and the rest, but Meta hasn’t publicly discussed the API in that context.