Since its release in 2008, TweetDeck gives Twitter power users a way to manage timelines, users, and trends in readily manageable columns, saving you from having to open a slew of tabs and/or web browsers that would clutter your desktop. TweetDeck has been free since its inception, but it appears that might not be the case for long, as Twitter is rumored to be considering making it exclusive to Twitter Blue customers.
Despite the fact that Twitter has yet to confirm this vexing intention, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting this. Jane Manchun Wong, a security researcher, recently claimed on Twitter that Twitter was working on a new registration page for the TweetDeck service, which touts an “ad-free experience” as a key selling feature.
According to The Verge, this selling feature suggests that an ad-free version of TweetDeck is on the way, but that may not be the case, since Jane Manchun Wong previously claimed to have uncovered code inside Twitter indicating that access to the alternative client requires a Twitter Blue membership.
Twitter is filling in the new @TweetDeck signup page that they’re working on. Two new highlights:
1. A link for “the legacy version of TweetDeck” (even though it might be deprecated at some point in the future)
2. “Ad-free experience” being marketed as the selling point :P https://t.co/XP6sYsTUGM pic.twitter.com/fRc0ujZ7o2
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) March 30, 2022
Nice and subtle April's Fools, Tweetdeck, i like it pic.twitter.com/jIbYEMMwaM
— Mariscada Interestelar (@el_farinha) April 1, 2022
Twitter Blue is a monthly subscription service that costs $2.99 (or its regional equivalent) and includes several useful features not included in the normal version of Twitter, such as an undo button, a reader mode, and bookmark folders. Internally, the decision makes sense because TweetDeck has always been a rogue product that allows users to avoid adverts. Because Twitter Blue still has advertisements, adding them to it would finally allow the firm to monetize it and deliver a truly ad-free experience.
In spite of how handy an undo feature would be, none of these features can match TweetDeck’s simplicity and usefulness, so it’s no wonder Twitter is considering including it in Twitter Blue to make the monthly membership even more appealing.