Twitter ditched its timeline change “for now” after iOS users complained they couldn’t set the Latest Tweets tab as the default setting. The company rolled out a dual-tab feature that defaulted to an algorithm-based timeline following pushback from users.

Old vs New

The company announced a new feature on 10 March 2022 for iOS users via Twitter Support. Users could pin the Latest timeline (old Twitter) next to the Home Feed and switch between the two tabs. The Home Tab displayed top tweets (yes, again) curated by an algorithm. The previous Tweets tab showed the most recent tweets in reverse-chronological order. People really like their Twitter dished up that way.

Many users complained about the new function, especially the frustration of the app making Home (curated tweets) the default timeline setting instead of allowing users to choose.

“We heard you — some of you always want to see latest tweets first. We’ve switched the timeline back and removed the tabbed experience for now while we explore other options,” the Twitter Support account tweeted on 14 March.

We heard you –– some of you always want to see latest Tweets first. We’ve switched the timeline back and removed the tabbed experience for now while we explore other options. https://t.co/euVcPr9ij6

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 14, 2022

Twitter began testing its curated tweets algorithm feature last year, then called Top Tweets. It didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now. Jocelyn Jae Tanis summed up everyone’s comments well by tweeting, “Oh look… the main reason everyone left Facebook and Instagram has followed us and become the default. Chronological only please!”

The feature would have rolled out to Android users and web users “soon”. But now, never mind.

Source: Engadget