Some Twitter Inc. users were unable to send tweets on Wednesday afternoon, instead getting an automated message saying they were “over the daily limit for sending Tweets,” even for users who hadn’t posted yet for the day. The company said it was aware of the glitch and working to fix it.
Downdetector, a site that tracks technical outages for apps, showed a spike in user reports of trouble on the site, touching 9,500 just after 5:30 p.m. New York time before starting to decline. San Francisco-based Twitter didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the issues.
The limit for tweets per day is currently set to 2,400, according to Twitter’s Help Center, making it unlikely that most users came anywhere close to their maximum. Technical problems also plagued other features within the Twitter app. Some users were unable to access direct messages, and others couldn’t follow additional accounts. Tweetdeck, the feature for power users who like to manage multiple timelines at once, was also down for some people.
Users have expressed concern about a widespread Twitter breakdown since billionaire Elon Musk took over the social network last year and immediately fired 50 per cent of the company’s workforce. Many of those who left Twitter worked on core infrastructure projects that help keep the site operational. Some users and former employees openly fretted that such a sudden reduction in staff might lead to cascading product outages.
Published 09 February 2023, 02:49 IST