Much to the chagrin of anyone who hates algorithms, it appears that Twitter’s new timeline — the one that displays tweets based on importance rather than chronology — is now the default setting for all users.
Twitter rolled out the feature in February, but it was initially opt-in. Now, however, reports are emerging that the company has gone and made it the law of the land, notifying users with a message when they first sign on. Indeed, in the blog post first announcing the change, the company noted, “…we’ll be turning on the feature for you in coming weeks — look out for a notification in your timeline.”
The change was seemingly rolled out within the past few days, judging by all the angry tweets:
Twitter now requires you to OPT OUT of their algorithm bullshit. pic.twitter.com/OOKpt7H1SF
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 16, 2016
Twitter’s new “show me the best tweets first” algorithm is here & it’s the default setting.
You don’t opt-in, you OPT-OUT. Go to Settings.— Nina L. Diamond (@ninatypewriter) March 15, 2016
Got dreaded @twitter algorithm alert tonight. Changed settings to UNCHECK “show me best tweets first.” Should be opt-in instead of opt-out!
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 15, 2016
But wait! All you algorithm haters have a lifeline — the opt-out button. Sure, it’s kind of annoying to have to go and do it manually, but if your sanity depends on it, it’s no big deal.
Simply go to your account settings, scroll down until you reach the “timeline” section, and uncheck the box that says “show me the best Tweets first”.
There, all better!
Various reports have noted that some users appear not to have received the notification in their timeline, and that the setting was turned on anyway. However, when reached for comment, a Twitter spokesman told us that everyone receives a notification. “As we said in our announcement, we’re rolling out our timeline improvements to everyone over time. People can still choose to opt out of it in their settings,” he added.
Top image credit: AP