Twitter to soon let you switch to classic reverse chronological timeline

Twitter had launched algorithm-driven timeline in 2016. Almost two years later, the company is now bringing back the old timeline design.

A 3D-printed logo for Twitter is seen in this picture illustration on January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Files (REUTERS)

Twitter is going back to its roots, well sort of. In a surprise announcement, the micro-blogging platform said it will soon allow users to revert to old reverse chronological timeline. Essentially, you can see tweets as they are published with the latest on top - the original design of Twitter timeline. Twitter says it has been working on the new update for quite some time.

To switch back to non-personalised, users will have to turn off "Show the best Tweets first." Once deactivated, Twitter users will see tweets from people you follow in reverse chronological order. Earlier, users saw recommended tweets from people they didn't follow and older tweets as 'in case you missed it' despite turning off the setting.

"We've learned that when showing the best Tweets first, people find Twitter more relevant and useful. However, we've heard feedback from people who at times prefer to see the most recent Tweets," said Twitter.

"Our goal with the timeline is to balance showing you the most recent Tweets with the best Tweets you're likely to care about, but we don't always get this balance right." 

6/ Our plan is to eventually replace this setting when the easier-to-access switch described above is available. We'll keep you updated and are listening to your feedback - let us know what you think!

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) September 17, 2018

The latest update comes almost two years after Twitter joined Facebook in rolling out algorithm-based Timeline settings, controlling the chronology of tweets. Twitter received big backlash after the change but the company went ahead with the new algorithm.