Twitter can already feel the consequences of its recent changes. With competitors popping up at every corner, the walls are closing in on the social media giant. Whether it's an attempt to retain users or the "temporary" limitations are coming to an end, Twitter is slowly pulling back the changes.
Twitter Changes as of Late
In the previous days, users online needed to log in to Twitter before viewing tweets. Without any announcements, the company backtracked on the new policy. Anyone can now see tweets and previews without logging in via the apps or the web.
The restriction prevented tweet previews from showing up on other apps like Slack, iMessage, and WhatsApp, which according to Tech Crunch, is available once again. Musk did say that the changes were temporary, so the company is not actually rescinding a policy.
It was a measure to prevent other companies from scraping data off of Twitter, specifically to train AI models using Twitter users' data. The Tesla CEO claims that they were "getting data pillaged so much that it was degrading service for normal users."
As for the read limit for Twitter, the social media giant isn't exactly taking it back. It is, however, raising the read limit for various accounts. For instance, unverified accounts now have a 1,000 read limit to what was previously 800.
It might've been upsetting for some Twitter Blue users to get a read limit despite being paying subscribers. From its previous 8,000 read limit, verified users can now view up to 10,000 tweets per day, although it's still nothing compared to the limitless viewing everyone is used to.
The company claims that only a small percentage of people were affected by the change, adding that its effects on advertising have been minimal. It's unclear whether the limits and restrictions caused users to switch to alternatives, or if it's all the Twitter changes under Musk.
The company hasn't been in good condition since Elon Musk acquired it, and its value has since plummeted. Based on the $44 billion price that the Tesla CEO paid, the company is now only a third of its value and continues to decline.
Twitter Explains the Read Limits
According to Twitter, the changes were meant to prevent bot accounts from scraping data for AI companies to train their AI systems, as well as "manipulate people and conversations" on the site in various ways.
In Twitter's blog post, it was explained that the changes needed to be unannounced so that bad actors will not have the chance to alter their behavior and avoid being detected. The removal of bots on the platform was meant to make the user experience better.
Ironically, the measure that the company took is seen as an inconvenience as well. Some would argue that it's the wrong time to create restrictions, especially with the newly released rival to Twitter from Meta called Threads.
There are also other sites that are more than willing to welcome former Twitter users who are dissatisfied with the service such as Mastodon and Bluesky, with the latter backed by Twitter co-founder, Jack Dorsey.
