Twitter today rolled out a change that will make it easier for users who switch between its desktop application TweetDeck and its website, by no longer requiring users to log in to TweetDeck separately. That is, if users have the Twitter website open and are already logged in, they’ll be able to skip the log-in process on TweetDeck. Related to this news, Twitter says it’s also killing off its TweetDeck for Windows application.
TweetDeck is still supported on Mac for the time being, as the app continues to be hosted on the Mac App Store. However, Windows users are now being pointed to the web version of TweetDeck instead. Twitter also reminded Windows users how to make the TweetDeck web app more accessible from their Windows PC by pinning the app to their taskbar. (To do so, you open the app in Chrome, then click Customize and control > More tools > Add to taskbar, says Twitter.)
The company said it made the decision to abandon development on Windows so it could “better focus on enhancing your TweetDeck experience,” but it’s just as likely the Windows app simply didn’t have the traction that made it worth the time and effort.
TweetDeck for Windows will be shut down on April 15th, giving its current users a little bit of time to make a transition to the web or another Twitter client.
Meanwhile, the company also pointed out a number of developments it has made to TweetDeck in recent months – perhaps meaning to highlight that the Windows app shutdown doesn’t mean the company is ignoring the TweetDeck platform as a whole. Some of these new features have included things like TweetDeck Teams, group direct messages, new search filters for finding Vines, GIFs and Periscopes, and more.
The ability to bypass the log-in process on TweetDeck will work as long as you’re logged into any Twitter website, like Twitter.com or even analytics.twitter.com. And it works both going to the website from TweetDeck and vice versa, Twitter notes.
The company says the change will reach all users in the “coming weeks.”
The news of the TweetDeck app shutdown and log-in experience comes after a bevy of news reports today stating that Twitter’s new algorithmically sorted timeline has now gone live for all users by default. This is inaccurate, however.
The updated timeline was announced last month, and Twitter said at the time that it would roll out this “improved experience” in the weeks ahead. (Twitter users will be able to opt out, if they don’t like the improvements, you may recall.) Nothing has changed since then – this algorithmic timeline is still in the process of being rolled out in stages, meaning not all Twitter users have it yet.
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