How To Get The Old Twitter Design Back On Desktop

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Twitter has redesigned its user interface again in its quest to appeal to more users. However, when it comes to social media (and many other things), many people are simply creatures of habit. As a result, you may want to figure out how to get the old Twitter design back on desktop devices. There are two ways to get the old Twitter design back. One involves downloading a browser add-on, and the other requires just a few simple steps, although Twitter may undo this method at some point.

Option 1: Get the old Twitter design back without downloading anything

Twitter user Dan Barker discovered an interesting trick that reverts the new Twitter feed and user interface to the old one. We tested this out, and it does work, although it’s unclear why. This could be a glitch that will be fixed at some point, but for now, it’s free to exploit. Here are the steps for desktop users:

  1. Click “More” in the menu along the left side of the feed at the bottom.
  2. Click “Settings & privacy” in the left-hand navigation panel.
  3. Click “About Twitter” in the “Genera” section in the middle menu panel at the bottom of the list.
  4. Click “Directory” in the menu panel on the right-hand side of the screen. It’s in the “Other” section, and you may have to scroll down to find it.
  5. After ensuring that the “Directory” page has loaded fully, click “Home” in the left-hand corner of the menu across the top of the screen. This will bring up the old Twitter design instead of the new user interface.

The Twitter feed does revert to the new user interface after you close out the tab, so to get the old Twitter design back again, you’ll have to repeat these steps the next time you open a Twitter browser tab.

Option 2: Download the GoodTwitter plug-in

Multiple tech blogs have covered the other option to get the old Twitter design back, which involves the use of a browser plug-in called GoodTwitter. The creator of the add-on posted links to it on Reddit here. The creator made versions for Chrome and Firefox, so you will have to use one of those two browsers to use the plug-in. You can also get the add-on directly from the Chrome Web Store here or the Firefox Add-ons page here.

After installing the GoodTwitter add-on, hit ctrl+r to refresh the page and bring the old design back. The creator said the add-on does not read users’ browsing history. It requires permission to clear the user’s Twitter cache after installing. If you want to verify this for yourself and not just take the creator’s word for it, you can check the source code for the Chrome version here and the Firefox version here.

Those who have tried this plug-in have been giving it outstanding reviews on Reddit. So far more than 30,000 people have downloaded it, so it might be worth a try if you are truly fed up with the new Twitter interface.

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