In another flip-flop move, Twitter says it will now remember the feed — the algorithmic “For You” or chronological “Following” — that its users chose on the web. This change will bring relief to many who had complained that the social network showed them the algorithmic timeline by default every time they visited the service.
The move is the latest in a series of changes Twitter has made to its dual timeline implementation in recent days. It first made the algorithmic timeline default on iOS earlier this month. On the internet it’s a bit more confusing.
- January 13: Twitter rolled out the dual-timeline update to the web, but at the time, the social network remembered your choice.
- January 20: The company made the “For You” feed the default on the web when users first opened Twitter in a tab or refreshed the page.
- January 24: Now Twitter will remember your choices again. world peace.
Twitter also added that a similar update will be rolling out to the Twitter iOS and Android apps. So soon there won’t be an algorithmic timeline as standard on mobile apps either.
Many Twitter power users who used third-party Twitter apps never had to deal with the algorithmic timeline. But now Elon Musk & co. killed third-party apps by making changes to the API rules, users have no choice but to use the official Twitter app or website.
This week’s move fits in with Musk’s growing file of reversal decisions. The file includes the withdrawal of the recently launched Twitter Blue program in November and the removal of terms that banned users from posting links to other social media profiles in December.
