Twitter’s new owner is making another unexpected move.
He announced he's limiting how many tweets users could read each day before their feed gets shut down.
Elon Musk says it's a response to data mining operations looking to take user’s info for free. But several users say it's the final straw, and they're looking to switch to competing sites.
Bluesky Social, started by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, is a competitor that just saw its biggest user jump ever.
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And there’s the Spill app, started by two former Twitter employees. Its creators said they’re pushing for more culture drivers and Black creators to come on board. On Monday, it reached No. 1 on the Apple App Store.
"Hey, maybe now is the time to come in and say ‘there is an alternative to this Twitter platform,’” said Matt Cabot, social media professor at SJSU.
Looking for alternatives is frustrating ,but for a site many use as a source for emergency information, it’s also dangerous.
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"If all of the sudden, you've reached your limit, and you cannot see these things, it could be a huge disadvantage for people who actually need to have real information that makes a difference in their lives,” said Cabot.
So, as Instagram reportedly prepares to launch a Twitter rival, some users say they’re looking around.
"It's fun to have, I like to scroll the explore page and the ‘for you’ page and stuff,” said a social media user, speaking about TikTok. “It's the app where I can do whatever I want."
Others say they're sticking with Twitter, even amid the changes.
"Well, as a Twitter user you can definitely see the changes with Elon, but it's my go-to for news,” said another user.
Twitter did not respond to questions about why it limited the number of tweets users can see. Musk himself tweeted out that he's doing this to limit the amount of data that can be taken from Twitter posts.
But if you limit the amount of tweets bots can access, you're also limiting a lot of users, too.
