Twitter extension TweetDeck was down for users on Monday morning, frustrating the thousands who rely on the platform to optimise their social media.
The main Twitter website is functioning as per normal but the app — which allows users to group accounts they follow into lists or search results — is showing an error message.
TweetDeck was bought by Twitter in 2011.
Monday’s frustration follows Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, saying on Saturday that unverified account holders would be limited to reading only 600 tweets each day.
To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits:
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 1, 2023
- Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day
- Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day
- New unverified accounts to 300/day
Musk said the move was made “to address extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation”. Twitter Blue, the verified section of the website, costs the equivalent of $8/month (£6) or $84/year (£66) and gives users access to site updates as well as providing a blue tick next to their profile. Users of Twitter Blue will not be limited to the number of tweets they see.
Twitter has not said if TweetDeck being down is a result of this new limitation. Any emails to its press office are now met with a reply of a poo emoji.
Musk had not tweeted about it at the time of writing. He did say the limits on accounts would be “temporary” and that new users would only be able to see 300 tweets per day.
But users were unimpressed with TweetDeck not working, as the extension has proved a handy tool for many looking into specific threads or trends.
Hahaha!
— Shoq (@Shoq) July 3, 2023
One Tweetdeck column is now working. Just one. Guess which one? pic.twitter.com/NYvgn7SfUH
User Shoq wrote: “One TweetDeck column is now working. Just one. Guess which one?” Lo and behold, the attached picture showed a list of tweets by Elon Musk.
“Thanks for an awesome TweetDeck, Elojn Musk,” FunTechalyst wrote.
“I’d actually pay for a stupid blue tick if it granted TweetDeck access,” another added.
Around 80 per cent of Twitter’s staff have been culled since Musk took over, the mogul told the BBC during an interview in April.
I'm hoping it's temporary, but if Elon has killed off Tweetdeck permanently, then Twitter as a place for breaking news is also dead.
— Aaron Busch (@tripperhead) July 3, 2023
I'd actually pay for a stupid blue tick if it granted Tweetdeck access.
🤡🤡🤡🤡 pic.twitter.com/jQqMDar1wM
It has long been stated that TweetDeck is due for an upgrade.
A previous message read: “We’re currently testing a new version of TweetDeck with a limited number of people globally.
“This preview of an improved version of TweetDeck offers enhanced functionality and incorporates more of what you see on twitter.com.
“People participating in the TweetDeck preview can expect to see features like a full Tweet Composer, Advanced search features, and new column types. We’re also introducing Decks — a new way to group columns into clean workspaces.”
