Tweetdeck: Old version is back, in Twitter U-turn. For how long? We don't know
'Older, better' version reappears: Why is old Tweetdeck such a big deal?
Users in Twitter-verse now claim that TweetDeck's older, superior version has reappeared — coupled with the free application programming interface (API) access that allows for third-party Twitter app development.
Twitter abruptly erected a rate-limiting barrier and scrubbed the legacy APIs that allowed the old version of the functionality to work, while third-party apps were prohibited in January, rendering TweetDeck inoperable.
And last week, Twitter enforced read-limits of 6,000 daily posts for verified users and 600 daily posts for unverified users. TweetDeck immediately suffered as the microblogging site enforced read limits, reported Tech Crunch.
This occurred shortly after TweetDeck was removed and a paywall was put in place by Twitter — effectively rendering legacy APIs worthless and prohibiting third-party programmes.
Tweetdeck, a much richer version of Twitter itself, was launched in 2008 as a third-party program, before Twitter bought it in 2011.
Twitter’s abrupt decision
Twitter asserted that its decision to impose read limits — temporarily restricting the number of tweets that users may view each day — was "required" as a result of businesses scraping its website to feed AI models.
But given the release of Instagram's Threads app, which Meta hurriedly released ahead of schedule this week in an effort to take advantage of Twitter at its most vulnerable, Twitter is also facing its most formidable imitation: In less than two days, Meta registered over 70 million accounts.
Given the displeasure of its most ardent users over this move by Twitter, it appears the people behind Elon Musk's popular microblogging app is trying to set things right.
Elon Musk, Twitter's owner, recently hired Linda Yaccarino as new CEO. There's no mention (yet) from either Musk on Yaccarino on old TweetDeck's return. It’s unclear whether this restoration is temporary or permanent.
Old Tweetdeck version reappears
On Monday, the much-loved old TweetDeck version unexpectedly reappeared, The Verge reported. This brought with it the announcement of the restoration of free API access that formerly allowed third-party Twitter clients.
The "old v1 API" was used, according to an update from Harpy developer Roberto Doering, as reported by the The Verge.
However, they added that "this doesn't mean that Harpy will be maintained again, seeing as Twitter will most likely shut down access to their legacy api (again) soon and third party apps are still against their TOS."
It’s unclear whether this restoration is temporary or permanent.
A check of Twitter's official accounts, including those of Elon Musk and the new CEO Linda Yaccarino, turned up nothing mentioning the old TweetDeck's return.
More importantly, TweetDeck enriches Twitter experience by letting users view multiple timelines (for example, schedule tweets in advance), in one easy interface.
It includes a host of advanced features to help get the most of Twitter: Manage multiple Twitter accounts, build Tweet collections, and more.
TweetDeck, developed by ain Dodsworth, is a proprietary social media dashboard application for management of Twitter accounts. Originally an independent app, TweetDeck was subsequently bought by Twitter.
Tweetdeck is widely used by businesses and news organisations and independent social media manager to easily monitor content.
Few such apps have the flexibility and power of Tweetdeck.
Charging for TweetDeck could bring a revenue boost to Twitter, but the user backlash could trigger a mass migration to its new rival Threads, released by Facebook's parent, Meta.
To switch back to the earlier version, go to your TweetDeck Account settings, select the TweetDeck version option by toggling back to the previous version.
'Improved' version
Last week (July 4, 2023) Twitter announced that its users would need to be verified in order to use TweetDeck, in a shocking change that the Elon Musk-controlled company said would take effect in 30 days.
Twitter made the announcement in a tweet detailing an "improved" version of TweetDeck with new features.
The move comes just days after Musk said that both verified and unverified users would have a limited number of posts they could read per day "to address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation." His announcement sparked a fierce backlash from users on Twitter, and ad experts said it would undermine new CEO Linda Yaccarino, who started in the role last month.
Tweetdeck on Threads?
Though Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri stated that Threads won't be copying TweetDeck, "Politics and hard news are inevitably going to show up on Threads — they have on Instagram as well to some extent - but we're not going to do anything to encourage those verticals."
It was unclear if Twitter will charge users for both the new and old version of TweetDeck.
Individuals must pay $8 per month to verify their account, while organisations pay $1,000 per month.
Elon Musk, Twitter's owner, recently hired Linda Yaccarino as new CEO. There's no mention (yet) from either Musk on Yaccarino on old TweetDeck's return. It’s unclear whether this restoration is temporary or permanent.
Last wee, Twitter enforced read-limits of 6,000 daily posts for verified users and 600 daily posts for unverified users.