X starts scraping what's left of Twitter
The social media giant formerly known as Twitter, now referred to as X, has reportedly removed a significant portion of its user-generated content.
Specifically, it seems that X has deleted years' worth of old Twitter images, leaving users puzzled and concerned about the fate of their digital memories.
Recent reports from various sources suggest that X has taken a drastic step by removing images and links posted on its platform between 2011 and 2014. This move has raised eyebrows and generated discussions about data preservation and user rights.
Twitter's native links are affected by this move
Notably, the deletion includes not only user-uploaded images but also links that used Twitter's native infrastructure. This implies that even content shared through the platform's official mechanisms has been affected, indicating a potentially systemic issue within X's data management processes.
Unsurprisingly, the news has caused an uproar among users who had relied on Twitter as a means to document and share their memories. Many users such as @DoYouKnowBTS93 have expressed their frustration and disappointment.
I’m devastated. I didn’t realise Twitter had deleted images. I had pictures on my old account of my grandmother which I didn’t have saved anywhere else and now they’ve gone, she’s gone forever and those precious photos have gone too ??
— D-Day ? Proof ? BE? ?? ???? ????² ? (@DoYouKnowBTS93) August 20, 2023
This incident highlights the significance of digital platforms in modern life and the potential consequences of entrusting personal data to third-party services.
X is yet to respond
As of now, X has not provided a detailed explanation for the mass deletion of content. This lack of transparency has left users seeking answers about the motivation behind such a sweeping action.
Additionally, this incident raises questions about data ownership, user consent, and the long-term reliability of online platforms.
Advertisement
Musk must be surrounded of only yes men who all “agree” with all of his daffy ideas.
Yes Tom, like I said [#comment-4572495] “Scrapping, would be a better word”. AI does scraping of data, and writes articles.
Most people sign-up to online services and don’t read or understand the T&Cs. For example, they just wrongly assume when an entity says “lifetime” storage. They naively believe it means; it’ll last their own entire human life or at least several decades.
Who would only store pictures of their grandmother on Twitter when there are so many better options? I scrap everything from my Facebook page once every couple of weeks without fail.
I think it’s interesting that people think they can use another company’s storage for free forever, as their only copy of something so precious as photos. Surely by now people should make their own backups of photos and videos and not be foolish enough to rely on Twitter or Facebook to store their photos forever, for free.
True. Backup, backup, backup, system and data.
Not sure if this user’s experience of having lost precious pictures is or not relevant of the way some users consider social websites, as if it was a prolongation of themselves, or an extra closet/room of their very quasi physical environment. if so, quite dangerous as i see it.
Concerning X, scrapping (double-p is it?!) what it considers as left-overs of Twitter, I’m not a technician but I linger to understand the reason of doing so. If there’s one area of modern life where data is meant to remain in place it is definitely the digital one. Warum, sag, warum?!
Yeah that person was a dum-dum, for sure…
Further fulfilling its destiny of becoming the next MySpace.
Scrapping, would be a better word.