In big move, Twitter blocks links to Threads amidst fiery rivalry

As Threads popularity soars, Twitter has reportedly started blocking the new app's links on its platform. On the other hand, Twitter CEO has downplayed the reports of a decline in traffic, revealing that it could set a new record this week.

Twitter’s popularity has taken a dive, as revealed by Cloudflare's CEO earlier this week. (Unsplash)

Since its launch on July 5, the popularity of Twitter's newest rival Threads has grown exponentially, becoming the fastest platform to reach 100 million users. This has coincided with Twitter's traffic taking a hit, with the microblogging platform coming at 37th place in the latest DNS rankings, as revealed by Cloudflare CEO. While Twitter's new CEO Linda Yaccarino has downplayed reports of a decline in traffic, the platform does seem to be concerned about the latest competition, and in its wake, it has reportedly taken a drastic step to push back.

Twitter blocks Threads links

According to Technologist Andy Baio (via TechCrunch), although Twitter allows users to post URLs on the platform, it has recently been blocking links to the Threads app. Baio posted a screenshot on Threads showing a search for “url:threads.net” which returned no results. Searches with operators usually return results with the tweets in which the links are mentioned, however, there were no links to Threads profiles or posts in this case.

With the post, Baio wrote, “Twitter is selectively blocking searches for tweets that link to Threads, even though they allow posting Threads URLs (for now).”

Other users have also noticed issues related to Threads links on Twitter. User @thebigjohnnyd commented on the Threads post, “I noticed last week that if you post a threads link and someone has tweet notifs on, they will get the push notification on their phone but the in the app or on the website the notification won't show the tweet.”

What traffic decline?

In light of the graph posted by the Cloudflare CEO that showed Twitter's decline in traffic since January 2023, Twitter executive chair and CTO Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino emphasized that it is still doing well. Moreover, they also revealed that the microblogging platform is set to create some new records of its own.

In a tweet yesterday, Yaccarino wrote, “Don't want to leave you hanging by a thread… but Twitter, you really outdid yourselves! Last week we had our largest usage day since February”. Likely taking a dig at Threads and other microblogging platforms, she added, “There's only ONE Twitter. You know it. I know it”.

Replying to the tweet, Musk revealed that Twitter is on course to create a new record. “Cumulative user-seconds per day of phone screentime, as reported by iOS & Android, is hardest to game. I think we may hit an all-time record this week”, he commented.

While Twitter and Threads have been engaged in a battle to become the top microblogging platforms, the heads of the respective platforms have also butted heads. Elon Musk challenged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a “cage match” recently, and the pair have been active on social media, posting updates about their respective training for the supposed fight.t