Twitter Is No Longer Showing Tweets Unless You're Logged In — Is This a New Privacy Feature?

There was a sudden change on Twitter, and it was unannounced. The social media platform suddenly no longer allows users to view tweets or user profiles if logged out or did not have an account.

No one knows if this gatekeeping setup is part of a new plan, considering that Twitter has recently changed its leadership with a new CEO.

Before, users with no Twitter accounts could still see specific tweets and user profiles or browse through comment threads that were previously available to the wider public.

Twitter No Longer Showing Tweets if You're Logged Out

Venturing off to see how Twitter is doing or stalking Elon Musk's variety of new tweets without an account is no longer possible.

According to The Verge, if you currently try to access Twitter without logging in to your user account, you will only see a Twitter window asking you to sign in to the social media platform or create a new account.

Several users claimed they were immediately met with a sign-in prompt when they tried viewing tweets when logged out, be it the homepage or a direct link to a tweet or profile.

Instead of the website loading the latest tweets, users were met with a prompt that asked them to sign in or create an account. Upon trying it out via a private window on the browser, it now asks to sign in or register on the platform before accessing social media's content.

New Twitter Privacy Feature or Gatekeeping Tweets?

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney on Friday said the "internet feels increasingly broken," with "news sites are paywalled or account walled," including Twitter being "account walled."

In his response, Twitter owner Elon Musk said: "Several hundred organizations (maybe more) were scraping Twitter data extremely aggressively, to the point where it was affecting the real user experience."

According to Mashable, web scrapers pull data from websites without requiring any official API to do so, and Twitter's API now costs a minimum of $42,000 per month for most use cases.

In a separate tweet, Musk noted that the login requirement was just a "temporary emergency measure." He added that they "were getting data pillaged so much that it was degrading service for normal users." Musk is likely referring to web scrapers.

However, Musk did not share any timeline for again enabling Twitter access for visitors without the login requirement. Previewing Twitter on outside apps like iMessage, Messenger, Slack, and more is also met with a similar prompt to log in or create an account first.

Twitter 2.0's Operations

Elon Musk dubbed his newly-bought social media platform "Twitter 2.0," which centers on bringing new policies, features, experiences, and more to the social media platform.

Among the changes in the platform was the "improved" verification feature that fast-tracked the blue checkmark distribution, particularly for those willing to pay. However, Musk's promise of encrypted DMs has yet to be made available, with an initial plan to partner with Signal Messenger not pushing through.

The former Twitter CEO once claimed that Twitter 2.0 grew during his reign, with an all-time high in active users and new sign-ups amid the many boycotts from the public and famous personalities against the company.

Musk has already stepped down as CEO, and Twitter 2.0 is getting redefined by its new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, who aims to promote "unfiltered free speech" on the platform.

However, this unfiltered content still needs to be made available for all to view, as the platform is gatekeeping its contents with no explanations yet as to why it is happening.