Logging in to Twitter Required to View Tweets
Twitter’s usefulness is diminishing at an alarming rate, for various well-documented reasons. In its most recent blunder, the platform appears to have restricted non-logged-in users from viewing any tweets.
Until now, logged out users have still been able to check tweets and user profiles, but for now at least, they’ll have to either register an account or enter their credentials to see the Twitter owner of any unspecified meme. Elon Musk squeezed today. The Verge discovered the issue, which ReturnByte has confirmed across multiple browsers and devices.
Twitter won’t confirm whether this was a technical error or a deliberate decision, as one of Musk’s first actions after taking over the company was to destroy its communications team. In any case, logged out users have not been able to use Twitter’s search function since April.
It’s unclear what impact such moves and Twitter’s API changes will have on things like Google’s ability to include tweets in its search results. This could also prove to be an obstacle for services that collect data from public platforms such as Twitter.
Showing tweets only to logged in users doesn’t necessarily prompt people to sign up for an account. If someone wants to share a tweet with someone who doesn’t use Twitter, they may now be more inclined to send a screenshot rather than a link, perhaps making it less likely that a non-user will join the service.
Researchers have found that most US adults are spending less time on Twitter since Musk bought the service. You might think that Twitter would be doing everything it can to get more views on tweets and ads, since its ad revenue is said to have plummeted. Putting a barrier between potential new users and your content may not be the wisest course of action.
