Twitter Update Copies TikTok by Adding "For You" Feed
Twitter took a page from TikTok's book in its latest update that's now brought "For You" feeds to the turbulent social media platform. This new system plays off of Twitter's algorithm to show users tweets that it feels they'd be interested in, and while that may not seem like too bad a deal, people are frustrated with the idea for two reasons: it's set as the default option that displays whenever people first open the app, and the tweets shown aren't in chronological order in the way that many people prefer.
Users first started noticing some changes this week whenever the star/sparkle icon – the one in the top-right corner of the app that allowed people to view feeds organized by either top tweets or the latest ones – was no longer present. After some speculation from users, Twitter Support confirmed on Wednesday that a change had indeed taken place.
"See the Tweets you want to see. Starting today on iOS, swipe between tabs to see Tweets recommended 'For you' or Tweets from the accounts you're 'Following,'" the Twitter Support account said. "The 'For you' and 'Following' tabs replace 'Home' and 'Latest' and will be pinned to the top of your timeline so you can easily switch between them. Swipe to switch timelines instead of tapping the [sparkles] icon."
As indicated by the numerous "nobody asked for this" replies to those tweets, people have not been thrilled with the change. Seeing tweets out of order may be the preference of some, but many of the more vocal Twitter users would prefer to see their tweets and news in a timely manner.
That's still possible if you swipe over to the "Following" tab which honestly doesn't take any effort at all, but it is rather annoying that the current iOS version of the app forces people to start in the "For You" feed by default. It probably wouldn't be as big an issue on its own, but between that and other Twitter pitfalls that have taken place in recent months, it's another grievance for users to hold against the platform.