back to article Twitter displays our 'Favorites'. That is, like, PRIVATE, huff naive users

Twitter has begun messing with its design by showing "Favorited" tweets in its timeline, much to the annoyance of some of the micro-blogging site's users. It's already the case that naive types who think that they are secretly liking a tweet by avoiding the re-tweet option and instead selecting the "Favorite" button are …

  1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge
    Facepalm

    "what you favorite"

    Can twitter users get any more dumb? Favorite is a noun, the verb is favo(u)r. Things that you favo(u)r are your favo(u)rites.

    I suppose we should be grateful that they don't "favoritize" stuff :( What next, friendifying pepple on farcebook?

    1. dotdavid

      I think we already friend each other on Farcebook rather than befriend them.

  2. James 51

    Is there any proof that these ads represent good value for the people who are paying for them?

    1. Tom 38

      The companies that are paying for them don't go bust?

      Don't worry, marketing is 50% about making up bullshit to sell your sizzle, and 50% measuring the effect of that bullshit so that you can spend at least the same again next year on more bullshit, so ad campaigns are well tracked for value for money.

      1. arrbee

        "... and 50% justifying the effect of that bullshit ..."

        FTFY

  3. A Non e-mouse Silver badge

    Follow the money...

    When will users of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, etc. learn? They are NOT the customer of these companies. They are assets to be used and sold. These companies want as much out of you as possible so they can sell more targeted (i.e. more expensive) adverts.

    The real customers are the advertisers: The people with the money.

    Once users start paying for their accounts, *then* they (might) have a reason to complain about their information being sold to all and sundry. But as Facebook proudly states on their home page "Free and always will be." the chances of that are close to zero.

    1. NomNomNom

      Re: Follow the money...

      no-one cares

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I think that it has always been the case

    At least on my ancient iPad 1, the Twitter app shows in the activity section the favorites flagged by the people I follow. So favs have not been private as far as I know.

    1. VinceH

      Re: I think that it has always been the case

      I've certainly received emails from time to time from Twitter to tell me that so-and-so has "favorited" my twittish comment.

  5. Version 1.0 Silver badge

    I so love ...

    ... not using twitter

  6. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    Well done !

    Way to go, Twitter. Your users thought they had a private area on your site ? Nada. You showed 'em, and good.

    Keep up the good work. When you have disturbed them enough, maybe - just maybe, one day twatterers will finally understand that all their activity is just to grease someone else's wheels (yours and your customers, of course).

  7. Graham Triggs

    I don't care about people being able to see what I favourite - moreover, I want people to know when I favourite their tweets, and vice versa.

    But I don't want to see things in my timeline just because somebody else has chosen to favourite it - that's what retweet is for.

    As for people getting irate about a supposedly "private" thing not actually being private - wake up and research what you are using instead of just assuming.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Following in Facebook's footsteps I see...

    Forcing sharing of more stuff, and if enough people complain, a configuration option will be belatedly added to partially undo it - for those who know about it and want to change the "helpful" default behavior.

  9. Zot

    They should have joined something called 'Mutter'...

    ...if they wanted privacy.

    8¬]

    1. ZippedyDooDah

      Re: They should have joined something called 'Mutter'...

      I think you could be the next dotcom billionaire, seriously.

  10. Crisp

    Should have used Menshn...

    Never had a problem with privacy on that site.

  11. Ben Rosenthal

    I don't get people who start up a Twitter account and lock it all down, I thought sharing was the entire point of using it.

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