Meta is starting to bring the Threads API online, although it will still be some time before it is widely accessible to developers. The company has begun testing its new development tools with a handful of companies, Meta engineer Jesse Chen shared. in Threads.
According to Chen, whose position was first seen by TechCrunch, is currently in “beta,” but a wider release could come “by the end of June.” The initial group of companies beta testing the API includes 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 the API will primarily allow publishing content to Threads from these services, but Chen said there are also plans to “enable response and insight moderation capabilities.”
Having an API could help Threads attract more editors and power users, who often rely on third-party software for publishing and analysis. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has previously expressed some reluctance to court editors. that their “concern” was that a dedicated API “would mean a lot more publisher content and not a lot more creator content.” (Mosseri has does not want to “amplify the news on the platform”).
But among users, Threads is starting to look more and more like a viable alternative to X, and offering professional-grade tools is a good way to get publishers and brands to publish more on the platform. Having an API could also potentially help the company's plans to support interoperability and the like, although Meta has not publicly discussed its API in that context.