Twitter is Scrambling to Fight Threads Launch
Twitter has silently rolled back its login requirement for viewing tweets, allowing users to open Twitter links in a browser
Nik Richie
Twitter has silently rolled back its login requirement for viewing tweets, allowing users to open Twitter links in a browser without needing an account. This reversal comes just days after the platform implemented the restriction.
TechCrunch noticed that tweet previews are now unfurling in Slack and WhatsApp, while Engadget reported that Twitter previews were also visible on iMessage.
Elon Musk, who took temporary measures to prevent data scraping by requiring logins, stated that the move was an emergency measure. In a tweet, he explained that the data pillaging was degrading service for normal users.
Despite Twitter’s decision to remove the login requirement, the company has not made an official announcement regarding this change or provided specific details about the measures taken to combat scraping.
Interestingly, this development coincides with Meta’s huge launch of its text-based app called Threads. Threads briefly allowed users to view posts on the web without logging in before retracting the feature. It is anticipated that viewing Threads posts without an account will be possible once the app officially launches.
Additionally, Musk implemented read limits for unverified and verified users, allowing only 1,000 and 10,000 posts per day, respectively, as a measure to combat data scraping. Twitter stated that this change has affected a small percentage of users, and the impact on advertising has been minimal, as mentioned in a recent blog post.