Twitter announced a big change earlier this year when it revealed plans to roll out a new timeline that would organize tweets by importance instead of chronology. The microblogging platform released the new timeline in February; users were able to selectively opt-in and try out the emerging feature. Now, the algorithm-based timeline is reportedly the default for Twitter.
Fortunately, users who stand firmly by the chronological timeline can continue to use it by manually opting out. To do this, simply go to their Account Settings and scroll down to the “Timeline” section. Then, uncheck the box that reads: “Show me the best Tweets first.”
When Twitter first unveiled the algorithmic timeline, they explained that the new feed will put tweets in reverse chronological order.
“Here’s how it works. You flip on the feature in your settings; then when you open Twitter after being away for a while, the Tweets you’re most likely to care about will appear at the top of your timeline – still recent and in reverse chronological order,” said Twitter in a blog post in February. “The rest of the Tweets will be displayed right underneath, also in reverse chronological order, as always. At any point, just pull-to-refresh to see all new Tweets at the top in the live, up-to-the-second experience you already know and love.”
The introduction of the algorithmic timeline led to outrage and resulted in the #RIPTwitter hashtag to trend. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey took to the social media platform to address the uproar.
“Hello Twitter! Regarding #RIPTwitter: I want you all to know we're always listening. We never planned to reorder timelines next week,” said Dorsey on Twitter. “I *love* real-time. We love the live stream. It's us. And we're going to continue to refine it to make Twitter feel more, not less, live!”
I *love* real-time. We love the live stream. It's us. And we're going to continue to refine it to make Twitter feel more, not less, live!
— Jack (@jack) February 6, 2016
