Twitter’s new feature called CoTweets apparently has a loophole. It is now possible for users to accidentally create unlisted tweets.
The microblogging service Twitter has been offering its users a new feature for some time now. With the so-called cotweets users of two different accounts can create a tweet together.
Twitter’s new feature creates unlisted tweets
As The Verge There seems to be a gap in exactly this feature. Because if a user writes a CoTweet without a co-author, the tweet will not be officially published.
Although that doesn’t mean the new post is private. However, other Twitter followers can only see it if they explicitly receive a link to the tweet or if it is embedded on another website. The new tweet will not appear in followers’ feeds. And even if other users look for it, they can’t find it.
However, the unlisted tweet is not entirely lost. If other users comment on the post, it will appear in Twitter search. This means that from this point it can be found on a roundabout.
Tweets without a co-author remain unlisted
There is a simple trick to create an unlisted tweet. With the CoTweet feature, another user is asked to post a tweet together.
If the requested follower accepts the request, the CoTweet will be published in full. If the user declines the request, the unlisted tweet will be deleted. However, if the co-tweet request is ignored, the message ends up in limbo. The unlisted tweet will then be seen only by users with the corresponding link.
This is how Twitter responds to unlisted tweets
An unlisted tweet is roughly on par with an ad. That’s because “hidden” messages are very similar to the “Promoted Only” tweets that Twitter offers to advertisers.
As The Verge reports, the resulting gap isn’t really a big deal for Twitter. When asked by the magazine, Twitter spokeswoman Layal Brown responded:
During this initial exploration phase, we do not plan to change this at this time, but we will monitor and reassess if urgent changes are necessary.
However, anyone thinking of writing an unlisted tweet should keep in mind that the post can only be accessed via URL. But Twitter itself and the microblogging service’s data partners still have access to the message.
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