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Twitter is known to make changes to its platform’s user interface, as most social media platforms do, to keep the user interface updated with time and newer usage habits. However, sometimes changes don’t get the expected feedback and are rolled back. Twitter’s latest change, which is currently in testing, could be another feature of the platform that is met with mixed reactions.
Earlier this week, Twitter changed the look of its share button for many users in India. The share icon, originally in the shape of an arrow, now looks like the WhatsApp icon. While this would lead you to think that it is a shortcut for sharing tweets directly on WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in the country, it is not.
some of you might see a WhatsApp Share icon and if you do, let us know what you think pic.twitter.com/Y23vWUPTs1
— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) September 8, 2022
The share button simply looks like the WhatsApp icon. It still works exactly like the old share button, opening the same share menu from where you can share the tweet in your Twitter DMs or via other apps including WhatsApp, Instagram, etc.
This change would actually be useful as a direct share button for WhatsApp, or to make WhatsApp the primary shortcut in the shared menu that appears. However, it does neither. India’s Twitter handle mentions that the feature is only a test for now, which basically means that this change might be temporary.
Twitter has rolled back user interface changes before
Earlier this year in March, Twitter rolled out another change that left users scratching their heads. Instead of seeing the feed and tweets in an organized and chronological order, users would instead see the “best” tweets first. meanwhile, if users wanted a chronological view, they were forced to go to a separate tab on the right.
We heard you –– some of you always want to see latest Tweets first. We’ve switched the timeline back and removed the tabbed experience for now while we explore other options. https://t.co/euVcPr9ij6
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 14, 2022
Naturally, the change was met with widespread criticism, and Twitter was forced to roll it back and put the app in the default feed on March 15, just four days after announcing the change on March 11.
