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Twitter accidentally pushes confusing @username change to all iOS users, now withdrawn

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Users of Twitter’s official app were left confused for a few hours when the company accidentally pushed an experimental feature to all iOS users. The change removed the @username element from replies, making it hard to see what was going on as replies looked like original tweets.

Twitter users responded very negatively to the experiment.

Can’t tell who is in the replies when there are multiple people

[…]

So please @Support don’t lose the @ replies, it ruins the art of conversation that’s supposed to be your USP. Listen to users.

[…]

It needs to be reversed. It’s terrible.

[…]

How dumb are you that this experiment even left the whiteboard?

The company tweeted that it had gotten the message.

The idea likely stemmed from an extension of the change introduced earlier this year, where @usernames and media no longer counted toward the 140-character limit.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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