Twitter had been testing a design that would display the “For You” timeline on its website, but has announced it will no longer be forcing the feature on users.
The change comes after feedback from users, who said they preferred the old tweets timeline. Twitter says it will continue to show the For You timeline to users who haven’t interacted with it before, in the hope they’ll find it useful.
The For You timeline is a algorithm-generated feed of content tailored for each individual user, based on what Twitter thinks they might be interested in. It includes content from people the user follows, as well as tweets, videos and other content from Twitter accounts that the user doesn’t follow.
The decision to not force the For You timeline on users is a reversal of Twitter’s previous position. The company had been testing the design since November, and it was met with criticism from users who said they preferred the old tweets timeline.
Twitter says it will continue to show the For You timeline to users who haven’t interacted with it before, in the hope they’ll find it useful. For those who don’t want to see it, they can simply scroll down to the tweets timeline. The For You timeline is a algorithm-generated feed of content tailored for each individual user, based on what Twitter thinks they might be interested in. It includes content from people the user follows, as well as tweets, videos and other content from Twitter accounts that the user doesn’t follow.
The decision to not force the For You timeline on users is a reversal of Twitter’s previous position. The company had been testing the design since November, and it was met with criticism from users who said they preferred the old tweets timeline.
Twitter says it will continue to show the For You timeline to users who haven’t interacted with it before, in the hope they’ll find it useful. For those who don’t want to see it, they can simply scroll down to the tweets timeline. Twitter is giving users more control over what content they see in their timeline. Starting today, the social network will no longer force users to the For You timeline on the web, unless they’ve explicitly opted in to see it.
The For You timeline is a mix of content from people you follow and Twitter algorithmically thinks you might be interested in. It’s similar to the Following tab on the mobile app, which shows content from accounts you don’t follow.
If you’ve opted in to see the For You timeline, you’ll still see it when you log in to twitter.com. But if you haven’t, you’ll be taken to your Home timeline, which only shows content from people you follow.
To opt in or out of the For You timeline, go to your settings and toggle the “Show the For You Timeline” option.
This is a good move by Twitter, giving users more control over the content they see. The For You timeline can be overwhelming and full of content that users don’t care about. By letting users opt out, Twitter is giving them a way to declutter their timeline and make it more useful.