How to Remove Timeline From All Weird Twitter Changes, Ads, and Promoted Tweets
Twitter was in tears, making tons of changes that its users never asked for. From today’s new ‘Best of’ module to promoted tweets and ‘while you were out’, it’s all useless for those who just want to read a clean stream. Here’s how to get your timeline back.
On the one hand, we cannot blame Twitter for these changes. Some of them are really helpful; I know a few people who really like, for example, “while you were gone,” and some people might like the “best.” This is certainly not the “completely redesigned Facebook-style algorithmic feed” that many feared.
However, it is common knowledge that the company never made a profit , so they need to get hold of those sweet marketing and advertising dollars, and the only way to do that is to sell your pupils in every possible way that won’t make you leave the ship. It is their prerogative, and if they succeed, you can continue to use the services you know and love. However, this does not mean that you cannot control what you see.
Find out where the new features are so you can opt-in or opt-out
Twitter has a new “best” feature, one that is completely non-algorithmic, ordered by the timeline , but some of them are happy ( apart from the brands , they are Estatic) are currently non-automatic. Wonderful! You can (and should) try this to see if you like it. But it won’t last forever. Update 03/16/16 : Well, it wasn’t long. Some users have reported that it is turned on by default and you need to opt out and on your mobile device you will be prompted to turn it on.
So when it switches from consent to opt out,here’s how to turn it on or off if you don’t like it. See screenshot above? This is a big button that you need to clear if you want a normal timeline without further ado.
Go to your account settings page , scroll down to Content and turn on or off Show me the best tweets first. (While there, go to your security and privacy settings and make sure “Customize Twitter based on my recent website visits” and “Customize ads based on information provided by advertising partners.” They are customized to your liking. I prefer turn them off.) On your mobile device, open Twitter settings, tap Timeline, then toggle Show me the best tweets first either from this screen or under Personalize your timeline.
Use TweetDeck on your desktop
If you want to make the most of Twitter on your desktop, your best bet is to download TweetDeck for OS X or Windows. Twitter makes it ridiculously hard to find (and has asked sites like CNET to remove their downloads, which means desktop versions may be short-lived for this world. Update 3/17/16 : Yes – Twitter has officially killed TweetDeck for Windows . OS X won’t be far behind ) and really wants you to use the TweetDeck web app instead. However, here are a couple of good links at the time of posting:
- Windows : Softpedia (click Download, then click Softpedia Safe Download)
- OS X : Mac App Store
For really old versions, you can head over to the OldVersion.com TweetDeck repository , just keep in mind that the older the version, the more likely you will be prompted to sign in with an old “TweetDeck” account that won’t work, so don’t get too old.
For Mac users downloading from the App Store, we suggest that you back up your current version of your Twitter app (should be in your Applications folder) in case you prefer it, or it will be completely replaced by the official Twitter app for Mac.
In the worst case, you can always try a third-party Twitter desktop client like Tweetbot for Mac ($ 10) or Tweetium ($ 3, then full subscription to unlock additional features) for Windows. However, Linux users have many great and free options .
Use third-party Twitter apps on your smartphone
Speaking of third-party clients, many of us read Twitter on the go. The best way to make sure your stream is clean and to your liking is to use a third party Twitter app there. We’ve got favorites for iOS ( Tweetbot , $ 10) and Android (currently Falcon Pro $ 2 to $ 4), but Fenix ($ 6), Plume (free) and Talon ($ 4) are excellent alternatives to Android, among others listed. here .
The advantage of using a third party app is that you get a clean stream or stream based on the filters the app offers. Most importantly, this stream usually does not contain ads, “promoted tweets”, “while you were out” (which admittedly many people like) and, yes, “best of”. They are almost always more enjoyable to read and more like what you probably signed up for in the first place.
The downside, however, is that when Twitter tightened its API so much that it killed off third-party clients , it made it difficult to build good Twitter apps. Even the best of them have to charge money to attract users slowly, depending on who is willing to pay. This helps them avoid Twitter’s infamous token limit, which, when reached, blocks them from any new users. For you, this means that you will spend between $ 3 and $ 10 on an application that may reach its limit tomorrow. You can still use it, but without new users and income, the developer might leave or stop updating the app. Or you can spend nothing, use the official apps, get all the features out of the box, and fight ads and bloat. Ultimately you have to choose – I only use TweetDeck and third-party apps for that kind of control, but I know a lot of people who don’t want to spend money on something like Twitter.
Clean up your timeline so even weird Twitter suggestions are helpful
Finally, even if you decide to use the official apps and deal with the bloat, it’s best to adjust the timeline so that you only get the things you really want to see.
This means that you will only ditch all these brands and random businesses you follow if you need to send them DMs for customer service or support (but perhaps add them to the list so you can follow up them when you need them !) Keep track of people and pages you find interesting and informative and remove noise that will eventually retweet into your timeline, for example, in the “latest” news or in accounts with viral images , which anyway are cheating . Think of all your followers in terms of how happy you would be to see them pasted at the top of your screen as soon as you log in and judge accordingly.
Likewise, use Twitter lists well for things like news, current events, and mini-communities that you want to follow, but don’t have to be a part of. Thus, you can communicate with people and read the news without being distracted from the main chronicle.
Finally, clear your Twitter apps and permissions on this Twitter account settings page . It’s just good security and privacy hygiene (since ancient, abandoned connected apps are prime targets for timeline cracking), but it also helps to minimize the number of businesses and nonsense associated with your account that Twitter thinks you want to update. to a minimum.
Once you’re done, you’ll be in a good place to really make sure that whatever Twitter deems “best” for your timeline, you actually want to read, not a glorified ad. Combined with third-party apps and good filtering, you can make sure your timeline is filled with interesting things that you want to read from the people you want to talk to.