Twitter turns off threaded replies, shuts down prototype app ‘twttr’

Twitter introduced threaded replies earlier this year but it's turning them off as they make conversations hard to read.

Twitter threaded replies

Twitter has decided to remove threaded replies, a feature it started experimenting earlier this year. Twitter said the reason behind turning this off is because threaded replies made it harder to read and join conversations.

Twitter introduced threaded replies earlier this year in May. Threaded replies are replies within a reply in a tweet. As confusing as that sounds, this feature let users reply to tweet replies. Twitter indicated threaded replies with “Show replies” just below that reply. This can indeed get quite confusing for people wanting to follow a conversation on Twitter.

“We asked and you let us know this reply layout wasn't it, as it was harder to read and join conversations. So we've turned off this format to work on other ways to improve conversations on Twitter,” Twitter Support said.

Your feedback shapes Twitter.

We asked and you let us know this reply layout wasn't it, as it was harder to read and join conversations. So we've turned off this format to work on other ways to improve conversations on Twitter. https://t.co/pA4Yd0QfyW

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) December 3, 2020

Twitter also announced it is shutting down its prototype app twttr where it tests new features. Twttr launched back in 2019, and it let users join the app to experience unreleased features and experiments. Twttr users have been asked to switch to the main Twitter app as the prototype app will no longer be accessible.

We appreciate the feedback you gave us through this run of our prototype app twttr. For now we're turning it off so we can work on new tests to improve the conversation experience on Twitter.

If you're using twttr, switch to the main Twitter app to keep up with what's happening. https://t.co/xq4emx9HeH

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) December 3, 2020

“We appreciate the feedback you gave us through this run of our prototype app twttr. For now we're turning it off so we can work on new tests to improve the conversation experience on Twitter,” Twitter Support said.

Twitter regularly tested new features on the twttr app while it did test features with select users on the main app as well. It rolled out threaded replies first on the twttr app in March 2019, and introduced the new layout for iOS and web users in May this year.