Facebook temporarily deleted cross-posted tweets; here’s why

Users who cross-posted tweets before the API restriction lost all their old updates on Facebook.

Facebook’s restriction on its API platform led to users being able to cross-post tweets. (REUTERS)

Earlier this month Twitter announced that its users will no longer be able to cross-post tweets on Facebook. Twitter users have now discovered that their old tweets shared on Facebook disappeared from their timeline.

Twitter remained unaware of the situation, but Facebook responded saying that it has restored all the lost content. In a response to Axios Facebook said, "A Twitter admin requested their app be deleted, which resulted in content that people had cross-posted from Twitter to Facebook also being temporarily removed from people's profiles."

The Twitter app integrated on Facebook allowed users to cross-post their tweets by allowing access. After Facebook's decision to revoke access, the app rendered useless. However in removing the app completely from Facebook old posts were also deleted. It now appears that users are seeing their deleted posts on Facebook again.

Facebook had updated its API platform for third-party apps following the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. Facebook has made it mandatory for other platforms to comply with the company's new rules for cross-platform usage. The biggest brunt was faced by Twitter which led to its users no longer being able to cross-post tweets on Facebook.

While there is a crowd that functions independently on Facebook and Twitter, there are those who use both platforms together. For now users still have access to their old Twitter posts on Facebook. But there hasn't been any new update for users to still be able to use Facebook and Twitter together.

Twitter had asked Facebook for more time to come up with a solution for cross-posting tweets but the latter refused, Axios reports.