Twitter Rumored To Be Redesigning Their Platform To Look Like Facebook

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 16 July 2021, 04:07 am

Twitter will be undergoing a radical redesign of its layout, according to industry insiders.

Mashable reports that the social media giant will be reworking the current layout of its timeline in a big way. And according to industry insider Jane Manchun Wong, the reworked Twitter feed is going to look a lot like Facebook. Here is an alleged screenshot:

Twitter is working on a new timeline layout where tweet content takes up the horizontal space more efficiently,

no more margin around the photos! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/6ANE2uCIaB
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) July 15, 2021

From the screenshot alone, it looks like Twitter will be bringing some big changes to where things such as profile images. They've completely rearranged it: instead of the profile picture appearing next to a tweet's text, it's now positioned on top next to the username and profile name.

Furthermore, Wong also noted that reply tweets aren't that affected by the change, even if it seems a bit major. There's still the distinct grey line that links them back to the tweet they're replying to. It's worth noting that Twitter has introduced some big changes to the reply mechanic, like giving users the ability to limit tweet replies, as reported by TechCrunch.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey hasn't issued an official statement on the matter yet. Though he did see Wong's tweets and said that the change is "much better." This further establishes Wong as a credible insider, after she's been known to leak accurate information about the Twitter Blue subscription before the company officially announced it.

Twitter's New Layout: Not The First Time

Twitter has been going the way of Facebook in terms of layout for a while now. And this recent news is nothing really new.

(Photo : Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
BRAZIL - 2021/06/08: In this photo illustration a Twitter logo is seen on a computer screen through a magnifying glass.

Back in 2014, Twitter's new layout made headlines after it started to look a lot more Facebook-like. The redesign featured a three-part layout: all the tweets are in the middle, personal information on the left, and profiles to follow/trending topics were placed on the right.

But compared to the rumored redesign this time, the layout doesn't look too much like Facebook's--at least it didn't yet. For now, one can also argue that Twitter's new layout can also resemble other platforms such as Instagram. There are stories that take up the horizontal space at the top, and the images no longer have margins around them.

Most Recent Overhauls

2014 wasn't the last. In 2019, the company overhauled their website yet again, but this time, they wanted to focus on the desktop version. In a report by WIRED, it was even revealed that their engineers had a few troubles reworking the site because by that time, the desktop interface hasn;t been updated in seven years.

Still, they managed to push through.

What's Next For Twitter?

There's no news on when the new layout will be released. That is, if it even gets released at all. But judging from Wong's credibility as a leaker and the favorable response from Twitter's CEO, maybe the redesign is on the horizon and due before the year ends. Of course, this is only speculation and doesn't mean anything until an official announcement is made.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce