What Are the Limitations of Twitter?

Ever since the completion of the widely covered Twitter takeover, Elon Musk has been dishing out new changes just as he is eliminating some others on the social network, all drawing both praise and criticism.

The SpaceX boss has pushed for a subscription model, the controversial Twitter reading limits, and more. Many of his new ideas don’t sit well with a large section of netizens, particularly the Twitter reading limits. If you do not understand what this means, you are not alone. Luckily, you are in the right place for all the answers you need about Twitter daily limits. This article will explain the current Twitter temporary limits and what happens if you are affected. Let’s dive in!

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What Are the Current Twitter Limits?

If you usually read hundreds or thousands of tweets per day, you may be in for a big surprise. According to Musk, the new Twitter daily limits are designed to curb excessive usage and to promote healthier online interaction, but they have certainly ruffled a few feathers. In a tweet, Musk claims the move will help eliminate data-scraping bots and system manipulation.

Here are the current Twitter limits in detail:

Reading Limit: Previously, Twitter allowed users to browse an unlimited number of tweets daily. Under Musk’s leadership, there is a daily limit on the number of tweets one can read. The billionaire communicated the changes in a tweet in response to complaints from Twitter users who were hit with the alert “rate limit exceeded.”

The Tesla CEO revealed that Twitter Blue subscribers with verified status initially had a viewing cap of 6,000 posts per day, while those with unverified accounts could view up to 600 tweets. As for newcomers without verification, a mere 300 tweets per day is all they have.

As things went on, Musk clarified in a subsequent tweet that these limits would be revised. Verified account holders would soon have access to 8,000 tweets, while the cap for unverified accounts would rise to 800, and that for new, unverified Twitter users would be set at 400. Eventually, these numbers were again increased to 10,000 tweets for verified individuals, 1,000 for those unverified, and 500 for recent normal users. However, many argue it hampers the free flow of information and limits users’ ability to stay updated on real-time events.

Twitter Posting Limit: Twitter always restricted the number of tweets (now called posts) one can send in a day to avoid spamming. At the moment, users can enjoy 2,400 each day. However, this daily posting allowance is divided into smaller quotas for half-hour periods. Retweets are considered posts.

Following (daily) Limit: The limits on Twitter also include limitations on how many users one can follow or unfollow in a day. This is a move to prevent “follow-churn,” where users rapidly follow and unfollow others to boost their own followers. One can only follow 400 accounts daily.

Direct Messages (DMs) Limit: Twitter has also introduced stricter DM limits to curtail spamming. Users can now send only 500 DMs within a 24-hour period.

Email Change Limit: Only 4 email changes are allowed on X per hour.

Twitter Rate Limits

Here is one for developers using the Twitter API to handle numerous requests daily from third-party platforms. According to Twitter, these developers are in their thousands. Hence, proper request management is crucial for ensuring a stable and reliable API for the developer community.

These restrictions are based on distinct time intervals, commonly a fifteen-minute window. For example, an endpoint with 900 requests/15-minute rate limit means that up to 900 requests are permissible over any 15 minutes.

Different authentication methods have unique limits. Using OAuth 1.0a User Context assigns a specific limit per period for each set of users’ Access Tokens. Alternatively, utilizing OAuth 2.0 Bearer Token assigns a separate limit per time frame for app requests. Exceeding these limits results in the “rate limit exceeded” alert, emphasizing the importance of understanding and adhering to these restrictions to ensure smooth, uninterrupted access to the Twitter API.

What Happens If You Hit a Limit?

In case you reach limits on Twitter, the platform ensures you are informed promptly. An error message will be displayed detailing the specific limit you’ve encountered. For those limitations bound by time, such as direct messages, posts, account email alterations, and API request restrictions, the opportunity to attempt your action again will be available once the specified time frame has passed.

Take the example of the daily post limit, which is set at 2,400 updates. This limitation is divided into smaller intervals throughout the day. Should you reach this post cap, waiting for a few hours will allow the time-bound restriction to reset, enabling you to resume your tweeting activities once again. Understanding these constraints and the responses to hitting them can help ensure a smoother, more enjoyable Twitter experience.

Conclusion

There you have it – a brief overview of Twitter daily limits. One must understand how Twitter limits views, which is crucial for marketers and businesses. Critics argue that these changes, particularly the Twitter reading limits, have made the social media platform less user-friendly and have dampened its appeal as a real-time news and interaction platform. On the other hand, proponents believe it encourages more thoughtful interactions and could lead to a better overall user experience. Whatever your stance, one thing is clear: Twitter, now X, is no longer the same platform it was a year ago. And as with any major change, it will take time for users to adapt and for the dust to settle.