Category: Twitter

Twitter Updated With Pleasing Colour Schemes And Dark Mode
Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms. The microblogging website/application is an active service that is provided to its large user base. Similar to Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram; Twitter too has a refresh cycle in which it upgrades certain aspects related to its service. The social media giant has now announced a refreshed new look for its desktop version of the official website.

https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1150812293124546561?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1150812293124546561&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenextweb.com%2Fapps%2F2019%2F07%2F15%2Ftwitter-launches-its-faster-cleaner-design-including-new-color-themes%2F

Previously, Twitter was rumoured to overhaul its aesthetics which has now finally been unveiled. The social network is live with its new skin today (16th of July) and it seeks to offer a more streamlined experience; it goes in line with its mobile application iteration. For a quick look here are all the notable changes that have been made:

Changelog
- Users now have two additional options with dark mode alongside various other themes and colour options.
- The ‘Explore’ tab is now available on desktop for easier navigation to find live videos or location based posts on Twitter.
- Direct Messages now offers a larger view which enables users to respond to multiples messages on the same screen.
- It is now much easier to navigate the side menu as Bookmarks, Lists and Profile as they are now found on the left margin.
- The sidebar menu allows for seamless switching between different user accounts.
According to the company, the changes are built upon a major revamp of Twitter’s back end architecture with Twitter.com being remade from scratch. The new changes were made to offer a clean, intuitive and more faster user interface experience to all. It ensures a more efficient platform that have a more unified experience across multiple platforms like PC and smartphones. For example, tablet users are able to use keyboard shortcuts similar to desktop users. Furthermore, the refreshed website will only load features as and when required to save on data on metered connections.

Also Read: Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC For Gaming Smartphones

Twitter has claimed that its has worked on the aforementioned changes with “hundreds of thousands of responses.” The feedback was received during the testing period which paved the way for the final design. The new look is rolling out gradually and will not be available to everyone immediately. For those who wish to acquire the changes, simply click on your avatar and opt to “Try the new Twitter.” The fresh aesthetics will have its fair share of likes and dislikes, but to us it offers a unique and clean interface. Do let us know what you think of the new changes.
July 16, 2019
Twitter’s New Feature Lets Users Retweet With GIFs And Images

Micro-blogging website Twitter is known for introducing features that caters to the need of their users. The latest update from the company brings the ability to Retweet posts with a twist. Over 326 million Twitter users can now add images, GIFs and videos to their retweets. This feature has already been rolled out to both Android and iOS users, and is available on the mobile website as well.

As per Twitter support, users can express themselves better with the help of GIFs and images, which would enhance their reactions to a specific tweet. To do the same, users need to click on the “retweet with comment” option and then choose the respective image or GIF to go along with the tweet. Even though this is a small addition to the micro-blogging app, Twitter stated that the service was quite cumbersome to incorporate in the mobile application, since a lot of GIFs and images can make the Twitter timeline look cluttered.

https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1125477601219416065

Also Read: Playing Pokémon May Have Hardwired Your Brain As A Kid

Twitter spokesperson reported that the layout of the new retweet design resembles that of a stack. For the ease of users, the original tweet will be included in a smaller rectangular box alongside the user’s avatar, and all of it will be topped off by the GIF/image. Some creators are already making use of the new retweet functionality, which may not look the same on desktop websites, but will work just fine on the mobile application for both Android and iOS platforms.

May 7, 2019
Twitter Camera Makes Sharing Photos And Videos Easier

Popular microblogging service Twitter has announced the latest feature to its smartphone application. Called Twitter Camera, this enables users of the app to share pictures and videos instantly with their followers. The feature will be released in phases for users of the Twitter app for Android and iOS. The company announced the rollout on its official Twitter handle.

Twitter Camera

https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1105815777616191489

The new Twitter Camera can be accessed from within the official application by swiping left from the home screen. It reveals a similar layout to the Facebook camera, a rival counterpart of the feature. With the new addition, users can now click a picture by tapping the shutter button on the bottom. A long press of the button will record a video, which again can be shared instantly. Another option on the bottom right reveals a ‘LIVE’ button, which, as the name suggests, allows sharing live videos. There is also a flash toggle and an option to switch cameras on the top right corner.

In the new Twitter Camera, sharing the media from the app will also look different than before. Instead of the text being on top and important elements of media hidden away; the new update will make the media stand out on its own. The text embedded in the tweet will be shown below it and the size of the tweet will also be substantially larger.

Notably, the Twitter Camera feature draws heavy inspiration from Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, which also allows similar content sharing technology. However, the latter applications have additional features like AR stickers and hands-free recording. Twitter hasn’t announced what new features it will incorporate in the future, but it may add the aforementioned functionalities in later versions of the app.

Also read: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Down For Users Around The World

The new Camera feature on the Twitter application is one of the biggest updates the microblogging website has incorporated on its platform. This move is seen as a reply to the ever-increasing hold of rival services.

March 14, 2019
Twitter Is Indeed Working On A ‘Hide Tweet’ Feature

Speculations around Twitter’s updates previously indicated that the social media service is developing features to improve user experience. Twitter has now confirmed that it is working on a new ‘Hide Tweets’ feature, which will help users to hide replies on their respective tweets. This will provide users with more control of their conversations, Twitter says.

About The Feature

Twitter is testing replies moderation. It lets you to hide replies under your tweets, while providing an option to show the hidden replies pic.twitter.com/dE19w4TLtp
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) February 28, 2019

The option was first spotted in Twitter’s code and can be accessed from the list of moderation options by clicking on the ‘Share’ button, from what has been spotted so far. As per reports, the Share button has been given an overhaul as well. The ‘Hide Tweet’ button will act as a better alternative to muting or blocking the user.

Similarly, an option to ‘View Hidden Tweets’ was also spotted, which indicates that the feature will work in a similar manner to Facebook’s ‘View Edit History’ option. The ‘View Hidden Tweets’ button will allow users to ‘unhide’ the tweets that were hidden in the first place by the Original Poster. This feature will ensure that the chain of information is not entirely broken by the introduction of such a feature.

The Cons

Concerns arose on Twitter regarding the fact that this option will lead to users hiding obnoxious tweets. For instance, a user might get a different idea while reading a tweet if some of the replies are missing/hidden. People also said that controversial politicians can just hide tweets that they find outrageous or unacceptable. Unless a user actually clicks on the ‘View Hidden Tweets’ button, he/she might miss out on critical parts of the conversation.

The Pros

The positive aspects of integrating such an update are intended towards putting the user in control of his tweets. In a ‘toxic social media era’ where hate provoking comments can be found on almost every post, moderating the replies could impact user growth for the better purpose. It could also encourage people to debate or argue in a more ‘docile’ manner knowing that their tweets can be hidden any time.

1/8 Thanks to Jane and @MattNavarra for starting the conversation about the this feature we are developing! We wanted to provide a little more context on it. https://t.co/Ws2rJfa8sl
— Michelle! (@thechelleshock) February 28, 2019

Also Read: Twitter May Soon Add “Quick Peek” Feature On iOS And Android

Twitter Senior PM said that the ‘Tweet transparency’ feature will lead to a healthier Twitter community, where users can actually call out situations where hiding tweets become necessary. Twitter plans to test out this feature publicly in the coming months. The feature may roll out with some pending updates such as a ‘clarifying feature’, which allows users to explain the context of their old tweets.

March 1, 2019
Twitter May Soon Add “Quick Peek” Feature On iOS And Android

Twitter is constantly working on new updates that aim to provide its users with a better experience while retaining simplicity at the same time. It was reportedly testing the upcoming ‘editable tweets’ feature, the anti-abuse feature and a load of other tools. Twitter has confirmed that it is testing out its quick peek feature on iOS and Android Operating System.

About The Feature

The option will enable users to tap on the @username in the main app feed to pop up the profile which they intend to view. It can be a very helpful feature. Not all accounts on Twitter have relevant usernames which can tell a user more about the person. Also, if the user clicks on a person’s avatar/username, they are taken to the profile page, interrupting whatever they were originally doing. Instead, the new feature will act just like the ‘mouseover’ option which can be experienced on the Twitter desktop website. Users will get an option to follow the person or interact with other options on the profile.

https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1095784011845324801

Also Read: Twitter May Add The Option To Edit Tweets Soon

This feature is already being tested on iOS. The company, however, followed up with a reply to its original post just an hour later, confirming an Android update too. Twitter has not posted about the release date of this feature, but users can expect it to be implemented soon.

February 16, 2019
Twitter May Add The Option To Edit Tweets Soon

Twitter as a medium has been really popular to get updates by the seconds on all whats happening around the world. But the Achilles heel of Twitter has always been not getting an option of editing tweets. There has been a lot of discussion over the topic and Twitter didn’t give a firm reply. Recently, the CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey said on the Joe Rogan Podcast that Twitter is considering adding the functionality of editable tweets.

In his discussion, when asked about the functionality, Rogan said “You could build it as such so maybe we introduce a 5-second to 30-second delay in the sending. And within that window, you can edit. The issue with going longer than that is it takes that real-time nature of the conversational flow out of it.”

Editable Tweets- A Boon or Bane?

The quest for editable tweets is nothing new. Since a long time, some famous people have been asking for the feature. Popular Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee has voiced his opinions many times over the past few years.

The case for editing tweets:

– You make a typo

– You can only edit within 60 seconds of posting

– Twitter should show the edit history
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) December 11, 2016

The idea of Tweets that are editable for a while seems like a good one for now, if people can see the edit history. This would make the platform more transparent, which its already quite is. The time period that Twitter would decide to let edits happen isn’t known yet.

Read more: 11-Year Old Moves To Court To Ban PUBG

It seems that the micro-blogging site is headed in the right direction. This change may also lead to more people interested in the platform, something Twitter has wanted do for years.

February 4, 2019
New Twitter Update Will Reduce Follower Count As Locked Accounts Are Removed

On Wednesday, Twitter announced that many users may experience a drop in their number of followers. This news comes at a time when many other social media platforms are under the public and legal scrutiny. With this Twitter update, the company aims to remove the “locked accounts”.

Must Read: Twitter Warns 330 Million Users Of A Password Vulnerability

What Are Locked Accounts

Twitter locks an account after detecting sudden behavioral changes. This means the account has either sent a large number of unsolicited tweets or it has tweeted some misleading links. Although it is nice for the social network to tighten its security, the decision with this Twitter update affects a lot of unaware users as well.

Why is Twitter Locking Accounts

The reason for the Twitter update is that the social network plans for improving the health of conversations carried out on its platform. Twitter prioritized on followers because it is relatively a more visible feature, and reflects the credibility of the associated account. This update is an attempt to deal with fake news and spam on the social media platform.

Must Read: Apple Music For Android Gets A UI Update

What Happens After The Account Is Locked?

An account cannot be used to generate any further tweets after being locked, and neither will it be served with ads. Most of these locked accounts were created by actual people. Even so, Twitter cannot confirm if the original users still have control and access to their accounts. In an attempt to let the users regain the control, Twitter reaches out to the owners and asks them to reset their password. Now with the new Twitter update, the social network plans of removing the accounts which do not reset their passwords after being promptly notified.

The social network claims that the new Twitter update will not affect an account’s Monthly Active User (MAU) or Daily Active User (DAU) metrics. Regardless, this news is may come as a set back for long time users of the platform.

July 12, 2018
Twitter Warns 330 Million Users Of A Password Vulnerability

If anyone logged on to Twitter late last night, must have been greeted with a “Keeping Your Account Secure” notice. It is fair to say that not everyone went ahead and read the whole thing. However, what the popup window informs users about is quite damning. It essentially says that the passwords of all 330 million Twitter users were exposed in plain text. This happened due to a bug that the company claims to have fixed now.

Twitter claims that its investigation showed that there was no evidence that any breach of the unmasked passwords occurred. However, out of an “abundance of caution,” it has adviced all users to change their passwords.

Must Read: WhatsApp C-Founder Leaves Facebook

According to the company, the bug occurred because of an issue in the hashing process of storing passwords. The hashing process replaces the actual password with a random set of numbers and letters that are stored in Twitter’s system. In this way, it can validate a user’s account credentials without revealing their password.

We are sharing this information to help people make an informed decision about their account security. We didn’t have to, but believe it’s the right thing to do. https://t.co/yVKOqnlITA

— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) May 3, 2018

While the company has explained what the issue was, it hasn’t revealed how many users’ passwords may have potentially been compromised. We don’t even know how long the bug exposed the passwords and how long the company took to fix it. However, urging its entire userbase to change their passwords indicates to a significant user number.

We advise all users to change their passwords irrespective of Twitter’s claims that no compromise occurred.

May 4, 2018
Tweet Limit Extended To 280 Characters For Everyone

After testing the 280-character limit with a few users, Twitter is officially rolling out the new character limit to all its users. The only exceptions will be for Twitter users in the Japanese, Korean, and Chinese languages, who can convey as much as double the amount of information in their tweets compared to characters in English and other languages.

This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is madness ! This is me

— Bharat Nagpal (@TheBharatNagpal) November 8, 2017

In a blog post announcing the new official character limit, Aliza Rosen, Product Manager said:

During the first few days of the test many people Tweeted the full 280 limit because it was new and novel, but soon after behaviour normalised. We saw when people needed to use more than 140 characters, they Tweeted more easily and more often.

But importantly, people Tweeted below 140 most of the time and the brevity of Twitter remained.

The 280-character limit is still rolling out in phases and if your tweets are still limited to 140 characters, then fret not.

Back in 2016, Twitter chief Jack Dorsey was asked about the 140-character limit and its future, and he replied with a firm “It’s staying.” When Twitter had announced the test phase of the 280-character limit, Aliza Rosen, Product Manager in a blog post wrote:

We want every person around the world to easily express themselves on Twitter, so we’re doing something new: we’re going to try out a longer limit, 280 characters, in languages impacted by cramming (which is all except Japanese, Chinese, and Korean).

In the same post, she continued, “Also, in all markets, when people don’t have to cram their thoughts into 140 characters and actually have some to spare, we see more people Tweeting – which is awesome!” This made it evident that Twitter was willing to reach out to more people by giving the iconic 140-character limit, something that was quintessential to Twitter’s growthfar and has been a part of the company’s identity since the very beginning.

November 8, 2017
Twitter Is Testing A 280-Character Limit For Tweets

If you are an avid twitterati and the 140-character has always annoyed you, then you’re in luck. Twitter has announced that it will be testing a 280-character limit for tweets for some people. These people will be randomly chosen and the duration of the testing phase has not been announced yet.

Back in 2016, Twitter chief Jack Dorsey was asked about the 140-character limit and its future, and he replied with a firm “It’s staying.” All this seems to have changed within a year as the 280-character limit testing phase picks up pace. The company has said that only a “single-digit” percentage of its users will get the opportunity to double their tweet’s character. Twitter has over 328 million users, so, basically millions will get that opportunity.

There is no direct cause for action here, according to Twitter. But, in a recent blog post Aliza Rosen, Product Manager at Twitter pointed out something. She said that in languages like Chinese, Korean, Japanese you can convey about double the amount of information in one character as you can in many other languages, like English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French.

We want every person around the world to easily express themselves on Twitter, so we’re doing something new: we’re going to try out a longer limit, 280 characters, in languages impacted by cramming (which is all except Japanese, Chinese, and Korean).

As is evident from the quote, the 280-character limit will roll out in all languages except Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. The process of choosing these “small percentage” of people has not been revealed by the company yet.

Rozen continued to state, “Also, in all markets, when people don’t have to cram their thoughts into 140 characters and actually have some to spare, we see more people Tweeting – which is awesome!” This basically means that Twitter is willing to flex the character limit to reach out to more people. In doing so, it is also willing to give up something that has been quintessential to its growth so far and has been a part of the company’s identity since the very beginning.

The roll-out has happened and if you are one of the millions to be able to tweet in 280 characters, let us know in the comments below!

September 27, 2017
OnePlus Just Blatantly Copied Moto’s Advertisement

Yesterday OnePlus posted a media on their social media platforms showing the OnePlus 5 in a grey colour with the 50 Shades of Grey tag “Mr. Grey will See you now” with one small change, with the word “grey” spelt “Gray” which is a more American way of writing the word.

No resisting this ? pic.twitter.com/ExXXQ3IqMw

— OnePlus India (@OnePlus_IN) July 12, 2017

This image seems to be an exact copy of an image Moto tweeted for the “grey” Moto M. While the meme for “Mr. Grey will see you now” is a popular and open concept. It seems that not only did OnePlus get inspired by the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus as far is design is concerned, the company is also seeking inspiration in creative campaigns for social media.

Mr. Grey is ready to see you all, are you? #HelloGrey.
Unveiling #motom in grey.
Sale starts on 6th February at 12pm on @Flipkart. pic.twitter.com/SWhUdOmeR9

— Moto India (@Moto_IND) February 3, 2017

The OnePlus 5 was launched on 22nd June in India, and was highly criticised for its design which looks similar to the iPhone 7. The OnePlus 5 runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset and features 6-8 GB of RAM. The OnePlus 5 also has a dual camera setup on the back which has been laid out much like the iPhone 7 plus.

See the original Mr. Grey will See you now image below.

July 13, 2017
Apple Launches Official Twitter Account Just Ahead of The iPhone 7 Launch

Apple has been off Twitter till now, not communicating with the world through social media. But the tech giant has finally launched a Twitter account @Apple just few days ahead of the iPhone 7 launch set for September 7th.

Although Apple hasn’t tweeted anything yet, the account is verified and seems to be ready to go. From the looks of it Apple will live tweet the Apple iPhone 7, 7th September event. The company also recently updated it’s Newsroom for a more card like approach.

Apple has remained very closed about it’s press relations and the company’s approach towards marketing has been very internal and not social media friendly. With a twitter account it seems Apple is ready to change that.

September 2, 2016
Twitter confirms @replies and media will not be counted in 140 characters

Twitter has officially confirmed rumors surrounding the removal of media and @replies from the 140 character count.

Media attachments, such as photos and videos, will no longer count toward the character limit. @names in reply to Tweets will be removed from the count and people will now be able to Retweet and Quote Tweet themselves, enabling them to resurface any of their previous Tweets and add new commentary. In addition, any new Tweet beginning with a @name will be seen by all followers.

We’re not giving up on the idea of Twitter being in the moment. That concept of brevity, speed and live conversation – being able to think of something and put it out to the world instantly – that’s what’s most important. We’re always going to look for opportunities to make Tweets a lot more expressive, and enable people to say what they want to say. As long as things are fast, easy, simple and expressive, we’re going to look at what we can do to make Twitter a better experience. – Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO

While app updates will follow to enable this feature Twitter’s website will have this running immediately.

May 24, 2016
Twitter will stop counting Links and Media in the 140 Character Limit

Twitter inc. is making several changes that will affect its users in a good way. While the 140 character limit has stayed a major reason for its popularity, it was originally set for use with text messaging or SMS service.

Twitter had earlier considered raising the tweet limit to 10000 characters, but the company realizes that the length of the tweets has majorly been the reason for the popularity of the now “trend” network.

Now, however the company is planning to exclude the media and links attached from the counted characters in the tweets. this will free up more space for actual wordage.

Twitter is also, much like facebook, betting big on video and live video streams that will help generate not only new users but large revenue.

May 18, 2016
Twitter Shuts Down 125,000 Accounts For Promoting Terrorist Activity

Twitter took off 125,000 accounts from the website for threatening or promoting terrorist activity. All these accounts were linked to the extremist group, ISIS -both its members as well as sympathisers. ISIS’ tech-expertise are no big secret. Its members have been brazenly using the virtual space to get their message across.

There has been no official verification for the identity of the users of these accounts. Also, if they truly were related to ISIS -there really is no way to know how effective this move was. Many of these accounts are often handled by the same person who can very easily create another network of Twitter accounts and pick up exactly from where they left.

In the past, ISIS has used many apps, websites, softwares and all sorts of virtual entities to keep itself on its feet. While SoundCloud has been used to release audio reports, Instagram and WhatsApp have been the platforms to share graphic content in the form of videos and images.

Battle summaries have been published on JustPaste, while hundreds of questions have been answered about joining ISIS on Ask.fm. The website also gives guidelines regarding the footwear to carry and availability of toothbrushes for new recruits.

Reportedly, many ISIS volunteers have been put in touch with members of the organisation in Turkey or Syria following an introduction that says, “Kik me”, followed by discussion in private on many smartphones-based virtual platforms.

Quite recently a woman in the US sued Twitter for allowing official ISIS accounts to run on its platform, sparking off yet another debate about the exchange of content on social media.

The lawsuit followed an attack by an ISIS member on November 9th when he shot down five people to death in Jordan. Two of them happened to be Americans. The husband of the plaintiff was one of the two American victims.

However, despite various complaints and lawsuits over the last couple of years, no serious action has been possible against any social media platform. Websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. It means that these websites are exempt from laws that would otherwise make them responsible for the content that users put up on their platform.

Additionally, US authorities often prefer the existence of accounts of antisocial elements. Officials think activities on social media platforms would enable them to keep an eye on ISIS and their supporters. Issues like these have been a much debated topic with no imminent conclusion for now. Twitter, on the other hand, has decided to take some form of a definitive step and remove 125,000 accounts. A lot of Anons will sleep more peacefully than usual tonight.

February 7, 2016