Twitter Takes a New Measure Against Screenshotting

We all have seen screenshots from Twitter that circulate all over the social media as memes, easy to share yet generating little to no engagement for Twitter itself. Hardly does any Twitter user, let alone CEO, enjoy this. The recent measure shows that Twitter is searching for reducing this practice and show the users other ways of sharing tweets.

If we count these memetic pictures spreading around to non-users which never reach the source, this may result in much larger significance of Twitter even for those who never go there. Now, in the wake of recent scandals around bots and stuff, Twitter does its best to maximize real human engagements and various forms of interactions. To stop this hidden influence or rather convert it into direct one, Twitter now tests the new reaction to an attempt to take a screenshot.

If you’re one of those few to have become a part of the test, you can try taking a screenshot on your phone. As you screenshot a tweet, the app detects it and asks you to either share the original tweet in the app or the link to it, so other users can interact with the origin. If you follow, this prevents this sort of interaction with the content that disregards the source – that is, Twitter itself.

It’s not that Twitter cares about sensitive user data. It’s been long allowing any forms of explicit media content, so adult industry stars and regular users post nude photos and videos there, and anyone can just download it. Any offensive replies are more often hidden than deleted. Even misinformation in the crusade against it is usually commented and marked but not banned. So if you do want to take a screenshot, Twitter will not prevent it completely; it will remind you of other ways to share the tweet.

Do you often see screenshotted tweets on Instagram or Facebook? Do you yourself share tweets as pictures? And would you follow the link rather than just see the picture in your feed? Share your opinion with us in the comments!