Twitter has ceased forcing its algorithmic timeline on users on all platforms.
The microblogging platform recently announced it updated its iOS and Android apps to default to the timeline tab users last opened before closing the app.
It previously promised this update in late January when it first updated its web version with the same feature to stop its "For You" algorithmic timeline from being forced onto users.
Twitter "For You" Algorithmic Timeline Details
Twitter mentioned in its tweet on its Twitter Support page that it had updated its iOS and Android apps with the ability to default to the timeline tab you last opened before closing the app. It also mentioned that the update is now live for Android and iOS devices, meaning that users are no longer forced to use Twitter's new and widely unpopular "For You" algorithmic timeline.
Twitter previously made its "For You" algorithmic timeline default for iOS users in mid-January, much to the public's disapproval and anger. You may remember that users thought that the timeline in question has similarities with TikTok's For You tab.
Twitter users are not the only ones who saw the similarities between Twitter's For You tab and TikTik's - Engadget previously reported that Twitter's and TikTok's For You tabs have similar features.
The change was unpopular with most, if not all, of Twitter's users. Many of them use Twitter to keep themselves up to date with the people, organizations, and celebrities in chronological order they are following instead of the posts they might like through the algorithm.
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Others are asking Twitter to bring its "Sparkle" button back and place the For You and its "Following" tabs in there or remove the tab entirely.
Others are peeved with Twitter's action of having the update for its web version in the first place as it shouldn't act like it is giving its users something since it only fixed what it broke in January.
Of course, this isn't the first time Twitter replaced its chronological timeline with an algorithmic timeline. You may remember that Twitter previously tried implementing this scheme on Feb. 10, 2016, to battle Instagram's supremacy over the social media market. It is important to note that TikTok had yet to reach the US at the time this happened, with the app becoming available outside of mainland China in 2017, per Reuters.
Unfortunately, users were just as annoyed with Twitter's antics back then as it did now, with the company eventually reverting to its use of a chronological timeline.
Will Twitter Remove The "For You" Timeline?
It is unclear if Twitter learned its lesson on not forcing its algorithmic timeline to its users, but its updating of its iOS and Android apps to default to the timeline tab users last opened before closing the app is a step in the right direction for the company.
It is also unclear if Twitter will eventually decide to remove the timeline altogethter, as many of its users wish.
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