TweetDeck's Functionality Crumbles Due to Twitter's Imposed Read Limits

Fei Ruby, Tech Times 03 July 2023, 04:07 pm

TweetDeck, the popular social media management tool for Twitter, has been facing significant issues following Elon Musk's decision to enforce read limits on the platform.

Musk's intention behind the read limits was to prevent data scraping, but it has inadvertently affected the functionality of TweetDeck, causing notifications and entire columns to fail to load.

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(Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images) In this photo illustration, the logo for the Twitter social media network is projected onto a man on August 09, 2017, in London, England.

TweetDeck and Its Significance

For those unfamiliar with the software, TweetDeck is a social media management tool designed to streamline the management of multiple Twitter accounts. It functions as a dashboard application that provides users with a centralized platform to monitor and interact with their Twitter feeds.

Originally an independent app, TweetDeck gained popularity for its efficiency and convenience in handling multiple accounts simultaneously. Recognizing its value, Twitter Inc. acquired TweetDeck and seamlessly integrated it into its own interface.

This move was aimed at offering users a comprehensive Twitter experience while providing enhanced functionalities for managing multiple accounts in one place.

As a result, TweetDeck has consistently been among the top choices for Twitter users, alongside the official Twitter web client and the official mobile apps for iPhone and Android.

With TweetDeck, efficient monitoring and engagement across multiple accounts become a lot easier; saving users valuable time and effort. The ability to view and interact with different columns simultaneously has been a key feature that attracted a significant user base.

How Read Limits Affect TweetDeck

Initially, Elon Musk implemented read limits of 6,000 daily posts for verified users and 600 daily posts for unverified users. However, he later increased these limits to 10,000 tweets and 1,000 tweets, respectively.

The impact of these read restrictions appears to be more pronounced within TweetDeck due to its simultaneous loading of multiple tweets through various columns.

Engineer Molly White observed that most calls made on TweetDeck are now returning multiple errors shortly after opening the app. Numerous users have reported issues with loading columns such as notifications, mentions, and likes, despite their home timeline still functioning.

The future of TweetDeck remains uncertain since there has been no official update from the company since it shut down the Mac app in June 2022, prior to Elon Musk's involvement.

Twitter previously mentioned that it was testing a new version of the TweetDeck web app in specific regions, but no further information has been provided regarding its future under new management. Rumors have circulated about the possibility of TweetDeck becoming a paid feature, but no concrete plans have been confirmed.

As TweetDeck users continue to face these challenges, it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold. Twitter and Musk must find a balance between protecting user data and ensuring a smooth user experience for all users, including those relying on third-party tools like TweetDeck.

Whether TweetDeck will undergo updates or changes to address these issues, or if alternative solutions will emerge, only time will tell. In the meantime, TweetDeck users will likely experience ongoing disruptions and limitations until a resolution is reached.