Users of TweetDeck have been noticing the new paywall since Tuesday, but the firm has been making this promise for some time. The social network X, formerly known as Twitter, seems to be finally making good on its vow to charge for TweetDeck. Many users on X claim to be seeing a sales page for X Premium (the subscription that was originally Twitter Blue) when they attempt to open TweetDeck, which is now officially known as XPro, according to social media expert Matt Navarra.
A Subscriber-only Function
The Verge hasn’t seen the restriction yet, but given how many users claim they can’t access XPro without paying, we assume it won’t be long. X announced on July 3rd that it would be making XPro a subscriber-only function, so we were, regrettably, aware of this development. The shift was supposed to take place “in 30 days,” however the corporation slightly missed its own timeline.
Longer posts, formatting, ad revenue sharing, and greater rankings in conversations and search are some of the features that X has made to X Premium under the ownership of Elon Musk. Now, the firm is attempting to convince users that access to XPro is worthwhile in exchange for a blue checkmark.
Before the business acquired it in 2011, TweetDeck was among the most widely used third-party Twitter programmes. For journalists, marketers, and others who frequently used Twitter for work, its capability for many accounts and several custom feeds made it a potent tool. Given this, it does make some sense to charge for TweetDeck and add a Pro to the name. However, having to pay for a valuable utility that was previously free still stinks.
A Forgotten Product
To manage different lists and trends on Twitter/X, many newsrooms, individual journalists, researchers, and social media consultants utilised TweetDeck, which Twitter acquired in 2011 for $40 million. In order to continue utilising the tool, they will now need to pay.
TweetDeck has felt like a forgotten product for a while. In 2021, the social network’s former management began testing a new version of the tool, but it wasn’t made available to a larger public. The business terminated TweetDeck’s Mac client in June 2022.
Under Musk, X has made an effort to entice customers with a variety of offers. Along with the ability to hide the verification mark, it also introduced ad revenue sharing, the capacity to upload lengthier texts and videos, fewer advertisements, and access to encryption in direct messages.
