Users will not be able to automatically set the timeline
Twitter has implemented a change in the use of the platform that makes it more difficult for users to access the chronological feed. The design change allows you to scroll between the Home (algorithmically served) and Latest (reverse chronological) timelines. To set it up, just tap the icon in the top right corner and you will see the option to lock the “Last timeline”. Once selected, you will go to “Home” and “Latest Tweets”, both at the top of the iOS app. The feature, available on iOS, will arrive “soon” on Android and the web, Twitter says.
The problem is that after testing the feature, you are no longer able to set the historical feed as the default. Instead, you only have the Home by default, with the ability to set the Home and Latest Tweets tabs and swap them as needed. Twitter spokesperson Shaokyi Amdo said the Home feed will be blocked first by default “for now” and confirmed that there is no way to block Latest Tweets by default. To some, it may seem like a big step backwards for those who, on iOS, used to scroll through a feed in reverse order.
On the web version, which has recently also been launched natively on Tor, Latest Tweets can still be the default setting when the page is opened, whether you are using a PC or smartphone browser. A way to get around the not so desired update, at least for the moment. Twitter began rolling out its algorithmic timeline in 2016 and introduced the spark icon two years later to allow subscribers to switch between algorithmic and reverse historical feeds.