Twitter just added a data saver feature to its Android and iOS app, allowing those who are picky about their megabytes to save just that little bit more. The good news is, if you use Twitter on your desktop, you can take advantage of the feature too.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/10/how-to-use-twitters-new-data-saver-feature-on-your-phone/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_lfill,w_768/yni0qarvd1hm6ihwlja0.jpg” title=”Twitter Adds ‘Data Saver’ To Mobile Apps” excerpt=”At this point, most of us have enough data on our mobile phone plans that you don’t have to track your usage by the megabyte. That said, you don’t want an app that’s constantly using massive amounts of data, but something like Twitter or Facebook isn’t going to really dramatically move the needle.”]
While data isn’t usually at a premium if you’re browsing Twitter on a notebook or desktop, there are certainly times where it can be helpful.
Also, for those on older machines, the data saver feature acts as a kind of “lo-fi” mode, which can help make your social media experience a little snappier.
To use the data saving feature on desktop, you’ll need to switch to Twitter’s mobile site — which you should already be using, as it’s superior to the regular version in every way. Then, click your profile name in the top-right of the window, and from the drop-down, click “Data Saver”.
The change will happen immediately. Any still images present in your feed will be replaced with placeholders, which you can click to open, while GIFs will appear as blurred versions of themselves, and become click-to-play. Otherwise, it’s basically the same.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/09/twitters-desktop-site-is-bloated-junk-use-the-mobile-site-instead/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/09/twitter-mobile.png” title=”Twitter’s Desktop Site Is Bloated Junk, Use The Mobile Site Instead” excerpt=”Call me old-fashioned, but most of my Twitter interactions are done via desktop PCs, with the Twitter website serving as my primary interface. And it’s terrible. Use it for even a short period and it’ll start to chug, forcing one to close and reopen the tab (in Chrome at least) to get normal performance back.”]
If you’re worried about using the mobile site going forward, don’t be. Sure, it takes a little while to adjust to, but it really is the better way of using Twitter.