Twitter’s chronological timeline is BACK: Firm finally allows users to turn off widely-criticized algorithm that ‘shows the best tweets first’
- Twitter is giving users greater control over their timelines by letting them switch between viewing tweets in chronological order and based on the site’s algorithm
- Users have been complaining they want to see tweets in real time for many years
- In 2016, Twitter began showing users ‘tweets you might have missed’ first
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Twitter is finally resurrecting the chronological timeline.
The social media giant said Tuesday it’s giving users the option to switch between viewing tweets in reverse chronological order and based on the site’s algorithms.
It should be a welcome update for users who want to see tweets as they’re posted in real time vs. the algorithm, which showed popular tweets and tweets from users you follow first.
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Twitter is finally resurrecting the chronological timeline. The firm is giving users the option to switch between chronological tweets and viewing tweets based on the site’s algorithms
Users have repeatedly called for Twitter to bring back the chronological timeline, which it got rid of in 2016 when it introduced the algorithm-based timeline.
Its algorithms inserted, often annoyingly, tweets people ‘might have missed’ or ‘liked’ by people they follow, which led to some people missing important or timely tweets.
Now, by visiting Twitter’s Settings page, users can turn off the ‘Show the best Tweets first’ option, which will make it so that new tweets appear in reverse chronological order.
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‘If you turn off timeline ranking in settings today, you’ll see all the tweets from people you follow in reverse chronological order…no “in case you missed it” or tweets the people you follow “liked,”‘ Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wrote in a tweet.
Before the update, unchecking the box meant that the timeline would still show tweets ‘you are likely to care about most’ first in your timeline.
With the change, Twitter seems to be acknowledging that users want more control over their timelines.
Users have repeatedly called for Twitter to bring back the chronological timeline, which it got rid of in 2016 when it introduced the algorithm-based timeline (pictured)
The firm said in a series of tweets that it’s been planning to launch new timeline controls for users over the past several weeks.
However, the change appears to have been prompted by ‘feedback’ from users who preferred the chronological order.
‘Our goal with the timeline is to balance showing you the most recent tweets with the best tweets you’re likely to care about, but we don’t always get this balance right,’ Twitter’s Support team wrote in a tweet.
‘So, we’re working on providing you with an easily accessible way to switch between a timeline of tweets that are most relevant for you and a timeline of latest tweets.
Before the update, unchecking the box meant that the site would still show tweets ‘you are likely to care about most’ first. Now, it will fully remove those features when it’s unchecked
‘You’ll see us test this in the coming weeks,’ the account added in another tweet.
Earlier this week, game developer Emma Kinema tweeted that people could use ‘muted words’ as a way to manipulate Twitter’s algorithm and show chronological tweets.
The tweet received more than 21,000 retweets and over 55,000 likes, underlining users’ interest in having greater control over their timeline.
Twitter says it will launch an easier-to-find tool for turning on a chronological timeline in the coming weeks. For now, users can simply uncheck the ‘Show the best tweets first’ box.
WHAT ARE THE RECENT TWITTER UPDATES?
In September Twitter announced is testing Facebook-style replies and status indicators that show you who is online.
The update colour-coordinates replies to make response threads easier to navigate, while new status lights shine green to indicate you are logged on.
The changes, only available to a select number of trial users for now, are part of the social media giant’s efforts to make its platform ‘more conversational’.
In August Twitter built a new tool that suggests people to unfollow on its social network.
The firm says the feature is designed to help users remove accounts from their timeline they rarely interact with, creating a ‘more relevant’ experience.
It was tested by the social media giant on a small batch of users but it is not known if or when it will be rolled out.
Also in August, Twitter started banning a huge number of accounts, with many users taking to the site to bemoan the loss of hundreds of followers in a single day.
The cull had such an impact on numbers that the ‘Twitterverse’ was swept with the hashtag #TwitterPurge.
It marks the latest in a string of moves from the site to clean up the platform as the San-Francisco based firm now places a premium on integrity among its users.
In June Twitter overhauled the way users tune into live experiences on the app, particularly the Explore and Moments tabs in its app.
This included putting breaking news at the top of a user’s timeline. Moments also showed multiple timelines divided into recaps, commentary and live tweets.
It also made it easier for users to identify political campaign ads.
They created the ‘Ads Transparency Center’ which allows anyone to view ads that have been put on Twitter, with greater transparency about US federal election campaign ads.
In May it was revealed Twitter is building a tool that allows users to send secret messages to one another.
The feature, called ‘Secret Conversation,’ was buried inside Twitter’s Android application package, which often contain code for tools that a company may be in the process of testing, according to TechCrunch .
The code was first spotted by Jane Manchun Wong, a computer science student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, who tweeted that it appeared Twitter may be working on ‘end-to-end encrypted secret direct messages’.
The company also launched a new behaviour monitoring system that relegates posts from abusive accounts.
In March Twitter confirmed it was introducing a new algorithmic news feature to timelines.
The feature is being curated by humans for now, but eventually it will be strictly algorithmic.
The curated timelines show up as a module on the top of users’ news feeds.
In February the company updated the app so it was easier to save tweets and read them later.
The social media giant launched a new bookmark feature for all users around the world.
To bookmark a tweet users can tap on the ‘Share’ icon and select ‘Add Tweet to Bookmarks.’
When they want to find it later, tap ‘Bookmarks’ from the profile icon menu.
Twitter also added a few new features to the share button, including the option to share a tweet via DM, email or text.
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