Twitter

Twitter announced in a blog post today that it is doing away with the iconic (and infamous) egg default profile picture. The company explained in the exhaustingly thorough blog post that in place of the egg, it has developed a new default profile picture that encourages expression and diversity…

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Twitter shared today that it has finally flipped the switch on no longer counting usernames against character limits on tweets. Since tweets are limited to 140 characters, usernames for mentions and replies shortened the amount of characters you could include in a message.

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If you enjoy watching live-streaming Periscope videos, be prepared to start seeing some pre-roll ads first. Twitter has announced that it will start selling the ad-slots from today.

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Thousands of Twitter users have this morning had their accounts hijacked and used to tweet a swastika and Nazi hashtags. The attack appears to be in support of Turkey’s President, urging support for a referendum which could allow President Erdoğan to remain in power until 2029.

The Verge reports that many verified and high-profile Twitter accounts were compromised, and that the hijack appears to have been carried out via a third-party app.

Accounts operated by Amnesty International, Duke University, Reuters Japan, and BBC North America were among those hijacked. Several users have noted that all hijacked tweets appear to have been linked to Twitter Counter, a Netherlands-based analytics application. Twitter Counter was previously targeted in a November 2016 attack that caused some high-profile accounts to spread spam. 

Twitter confirmed that a third-party app was behind the hack, so checking which apps have permission to access your Twitter account is one important step to take. Here’s a quick checklist to check the security of Twitter and other services …

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Twitter is every tech-head’s favorite social network, so it obviously needs a good app to be enjoyed with. The company’s own is a little lackluster, but fortunately good alternatives are around on Android. And my personal favorite, Flamingo, just got its biggest update yet…

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Twitter is rolling out a new feature into its native client app for Android. From today, users will be able to start video live stream broadcasts from within the Twitter app courtesy of a new integration with Periscope, which Twitter acquired in 2013.

To start a live video, open the tweet compose screen and tap the new “Live” button. You can frame your shot and then press Go Live to start broadcasting to the world. The feature is rolling out gradually over the next few days.

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Despite its tentacular nature, which even brought it to build its parent company, Alphabet, Google is still heavily focused on search. That’s its main business, after all, and likely the reason why the company tries to put it everywhere it can. Today, it seems, is the turn of Twitter…

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Earlier this week, Twitter added a bevy of anti-abuse features including improved muting and easier ways to report tweets. With the latest beta version of the Android app, Twitter is about to give each profile a QR code for an easier way to follow…

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Twitter is rolling out new features targeted at combatting online abuse that should create a better experience for users on the platform. New privacy features announced today will expand muting beyond just accounts to notifications, keywords, and more.

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Update: Recode reports that Google and Apple are now out of the running to acquire Twitter.

Twitter has been rumored to be searching for potential buyers since last month, but a new report out of Reuters today suggests that its negotiations could soon come to a close. According to the report, which cites “people familiar with the matter,” Twitter hopes to conclude negotiations with a buyer by the time it releases its Q3 earnings on Ocobter 27th.

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Recently Twitter launched a new dark-themed “Night Mode” for its Android and iOS apps. The new theme trades bright whites and blues for a dark blue background with lighter accents colors. Twitter hasn’t mentioned anything about bringing this new mode to the web anytime soon, but a new Chrome extension brings the functionality over, mostly, with just a simple click…

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Pokémon GO is big, and there’s no doubt about that. The AR-powered app hasn’t even launched globally, and yet it’s making it to the headlines for all sorts of reasons. We argued that GO represents technology at its very best, and some recently surfaced data seems to be backing this thesis up…

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Cybersecurity is one of the most important — and talked about — aspects of our digital lives, and a high priority amongst tech companies. Just this past week, Google made it easier for users to adopt its two-factor authentication system, but ironically, it was none other than its CEO Sundar Pichai that saw his account hacked earlier today…

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The CEO of Google’s parent company, Larry Page, once invited Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey to Google’s campus to make him an offer for Twitter. That’s according to a Vanity Fair article, which says that Page “sat eerily close to Dorsey” and “whisper[ed] his acquisition pitch into his ear”…

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