If you are someone who likes to scroll through Twitter for hours, we have a piece of bad news for you. Elon Musk has limited the number of tweets a user can read in a day. The tech mogul announced the move on Saturday, sparking wide backlash from users.
Musk says that the decision has been made to curb data scraping and system manipulation. Moreover, the read limit has been set differently for verified users, unverified users, and new users. Read on to know the full details of the development.
Twitter Limits the Number of Posts a User Can Read in a Day
On July 1st, Musk announced that verified users will now be able to read 6000 tweets a day, while unverified users can read only 600 tweets a day. The number is even lesser for new unverified users, at 300 tweets a day. However, the limit is said to be temporary for now.
“To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits: – Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day – Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day – New unverified accounts to 300/day,” Musk wrote in his announcement tweet.
To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits:
– Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day
– Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day
– New unverified accounts to 300/day— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 1, 2023
The Tesla CEO then followed up with another tweet, revealing that the number will be increased in the near future. “Rate limits increasing soon to 8000 for verified, 800 for unverified & 400 for new unverified,” he tweeted. Musk further doubled down on his decision by posting, “Rate limited due to reading all the posts about rate limits.”
Twitter Users Furious with the Move
Even before Musk made the announcement, thousands of users were unable to view tweets on the microblogging platform. Some reported that their Twitter feeds did not load and they instead got the error message, “Sorry, you are rate limited. Please wait a few moments then try again.”
Topics like ‘Rate Limit Exceeded’ and ‘#TwitterDown’ started trending on the platform. When Musk finally disclosed the reason behind the error, users were furious. “I scroll through about 100 posts on my timeline per minute. If he keeps this it will literally end Twitter,” wrote a user.
Another responded, “This is the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever seen on here. It’s destroying Twitter.” A user also wrote, “You should strongly consider selling twitter to someone that actually knows how to not run it into the ground with whimsical & short-sighted money grabs like this.”
Tweets Have Also Been Restricted To Logged-In Users
The read limit has been announced just a day after Musk decided to restrict people from accessing Twitter unless they are logged into an account. This means that users without an active Twitter account would no longer be able to view any post on the platform.
Musk has been making several decisions since taking over the social media platform, most of which have been questioned by experts. Over the last few months, Twitter’s user base has gone down, and its profits have dwindled. Advertisers have also started moving away from the platform, especially after the appointment of the new CEO, Linda Yaccarino.
What are your thoughts on the Twitter read limit? Let us know in the comments.
