Meta has finally released its Threads API to developers, allowing third-party companies to build their own integrations into their apps.
Announced in a blog post on Tuesday morning from Threads’ director of engineering, Jesse Chen, the API (application programming interface) will enable developers and brands to build their own apps to publish custom image, video, text or carousel posts, analyze performance metrics, access follower demographics, and automate reply tools on Threads.
“Users can now publish posts via API, get their own content, and leverage reply management features to set reply and quote controls, get replies to a post, and hide, show, or reply to specific replies,” the blog post reads.
Welcome back to Threads, here’s how Threads keeps you going.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also announced the news on Threads, writing, “The Threads API is now broadly available and will be available to more users soon.”
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Meta has provided an open-source sample app for developers who want to build apps using the Threads API. There is a form that interested developers can fill out. Meta has also published a guide on how to use the API, which states that Threads accounts are limited to 250 API public posts per 24 hours per day.
After Instagram head Adam Mosieri hinted that Meta was working on the Threads API in October 2023, the company began testing the Threads API in collaboration with Hootsuite, Techmeme, Sprinklr, Social News Desk, Grabyo and Sprout Social earlier this year, and announced the beta version in April.
“Threads is a rapidly growing network with a social bent, and the capabilities this API integration provides to our customers take Hootsuite’s mission of unlocking social relationships to a new level,” Elina Vilk, chief marketing officer at Hootsuite, said in a press statement. “We’re excited to see how this integration will improve our customers’ social media performance.”
Threads has had an eventful user base, dropping significantly in August last year before climbing to 150 million users in April. Meta’s answer to Elon Musk’s X has been gradually adding features since its launch in July 2023. Most recently, Threads has added trending topics, a TweetDeck-like column view, the option to archive posts, and the ability to swipe through posts to like or dislike them like Tinder.
But Threads hasn’t been without controversy in its first year, with users reporting a failure to prioritize accessibility and an influx of hate speech, pro-life and transphobic posts. Though the platform tries to distance itself from politics and news-based content, Threads has added its own fact-checkers to combat misinformation.
