Twitter rolls back change, restoring the text of deleted embedded tweets

Twitter quietly reversed a controversial decision the company implemented last week, restoring the text of since-deleted tweets embedded on external websites. The change was first spotted by Twitter user @RuinDig.

IndieWeb developer Kevin Marks initially called attention to the change in a blog post, criticizing Twitter for “tampering with the public record” by intentionally hiding the text of embedded deleted tweets with JavaScript. Previously, deleted embedded tweets would still display their text content and that behavior is now restored.

At the time, Twitter Senior Product Manager Eleanor Harding explained that by obscuring deleted tweets archived on the web, Twitter was trying to better respect the wishes of its users. But the company received widespread pushback from open web advocates and developers who believed Twitter went too far by altering embedded deleted tweets to hide their text.

“After considering the feedback we heard, we’re rolling back this change for now while we explore different options,” a Twitter spokesperson told TechCrunch, confirming the change. “We appreciate those who shared their points of view – your feedback helps us make Twitter better.”