Last month, Twitter updated its iOS app to bring back the reverse-chronological feed and, at the time, it promised that the same feature would soon be arriving on Android.
That promise has been kept and Android users can now access this feature, something that was the norm three years ago. This means Android users can opt to see tweets that were posted most recently right up top on the Home timeline.
Since the overhaul in 2016, Twitter’s feed employed algorithmic sorting that listed tweets (older or recent) that were deemed significant or trending first. The rest followed in the "in case you missed it" section.
Android, we got you. Starting today, tap ✨ to switch between latest and top Tweets. pic.twitter.com/7rXo3BNEJ6January 15, 2019
This newly-introduced mode – accessed via toggling the ‘sparkle’ button at the top of a user’s Home timeline in the app – ensures that all tweets shown are in chronological order, with the latest ones on top, and aren’t algorithmically suggested.
While it may not seem all-too significant, the initial change to Twitter’s ‘smart’ feed was met with widespread backlash, spawning the hashtag #RIPTwitter.
Commentators and avid users alike noted that the main appeal of Twitter is to be able to reliably keep up to the minute with breaking and unfolding news, and the algorithm hindered this.
Now with both Android and iOS apps able to switch to the original mode, is Twitter in the clear?
