Know Before You Go Twitter is apparently experimenting with a new pop-up message telling users to re-share tweets. The popup appears when you try to take a screenshot of a tweet. It appears to be part of a wider effort to increase direct engagement for creators on the platform.
Twitter appears to be taking steps to prevent users from taking screenshots of tweets and sharing them with other social media platforms, which could reduce traffic to the microblogging service.
In what appears to be a limited test, Twitter apparently shows pop-up messages asking users to share a tweet when the platform detects them taking a screenshot. The post includes two buttons to share a tweet or copy the link to it, as noted by app sleuth Jane Manchun Wong (opens in new tab) and social media consultant Matt Navarra (opens in new tab) (via TechCrunch (opens in new tab) )).
It’s not clear when the new popups started showing up for some, but it’s clearly Twitter’s way of telling people not to share content in a way that doesn’t bring direct traffic to the service. At the moment, the tests are only visible on the iOS version, although an Android implementation is expected to follow.
Android Central has reached out to Twitter for comment and will update this post as soon as we receive a response.
Cross-posting from one platform to another is common among users, and nowhere is this more evident than on TikTok and Instagram. At the very least, TikTok tries to keep its brand visible on content shared on other sites by watermarking videos originally posted to the platform. In an effort to keep users hooked to Instagram, Meta never stops introducing features that borrow heavily from TikTok.
The latest development suggests that Twitter is taking a slightly different approach to tackling cross-posting using screenshots. This behavior tends to undermine creator engagement and reduce traffic to Twitter.
It only makes sense that Twitter discourages screenshots because it’s hard to monetize them. That said, let’s hope Twitter doesn’t block the screenshot altogether.