Twitter doesn’t want you to screenshot their tweets or share them to other social networks, but they have a good reason why they don’t want you to do that. It’s not because they’re worried about people sharing their content without giving proper credit, it’s because they want you to use Twitter as your home base, and not treat it as a jumping board to go somewhere else when you’re done reading the tweet you found interesting. Read on to learn more about Twitter’s reasons for wanting screenshots off of their site, and how you can use Twitter while respecting their wishes, too! The Reason Twitter Really Doesn’t Want You to Screenshot Their Tweets
How many people are sharing in this way?
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Twitter doesn’t mind you retweeting or copying and pasting tweets as much, though they might make a few attempts at dissuading you from taking screenshots. Why? Because, in some cases, it allows them to know how often their tweets are being read, even if that person doesn’t actively interact with that tweet by liking or retweeting it.
Why does it matter?
Whenever a user takes a screenshot of a tweet, it replaces their follower count with an X in order to make them feel bad about violating their terms and conditions. In reality, though, it does little to discourage them from doing so. If anything, it just encourages more users to share tweets in other ways–like emailing them, or downloading files from TweetDeck and uploading them elsewhere.
What can we do about it?
The only thing I’ve found is that you can copy a tweet by screen recording your phone and putting it on say imovies or something like that, but that’s a pretty big hassle. Can we petition twitter to change their API so we can still share tweets? Perhaps make it so long as you include a link in your tweet that goes to their page and maybe even an image of what you’re sharing, you’re good? Has anyone ever been penalized for posting screenshots?
The quick summary
According to a recent study by University of London, users who take screenshots of tweets are more likely than others to believe in false news. The study’s authors say screenshotters are prone to naïve realism, or the belief that their interpretation of a given situation is correct and other views wrong.
Why do you need to take screenshots?
Taking screenshots is a popular way of sharing information with other people on social media. However, many sites and apps discourage their use for exactly what we’re doing—which is why you shouldn’t take them. The official Twitter terms of service state that users aren’t allowed to take a screenshot or photo of another person’s update, including your own, and post it elsewhere. Many other sites have similar policies in place, discouraging screenshotting. The reason?
How do you take a screenshot on Android devices?
There are two ways for you to take a screenshot on your Android device. The first is by using your hardware buttons (Power and Volume Down), while the other is by using your hand or a stylus and drawing directly onto your screen. Let’s start with method one: how to take a screenshot on Android with hardware buttons.
How do I take a screenshot on iOS?
On Apple devices, taking a screenshot is as simple as pushing both buttons at once—but there’s a bit more nuance involved than that. First of all, you have to make sure your device is not locked. If it is, you won’t be able to take a screenshot until after you unlock it. Also note that screenshots are saved in your Camera Roll and can be accessed by going into Photos > Albums > Camera Roll on an iOS device or by opening Finder on Mac and navigating to Pictures > Mobile Devices > Camera Roll.
How does it work when I tweet a photo or video from Instagram?
If you have a verified account, your Instagram photos and videos will automatically appear in your Twitter feed. If you don’t have a verified account, make sure that you save your original Instagram post to your camera roll. After doing so, when you share on Twitter, it will provide you with an option to repost it as a video or photo.
When can I use images in my tweets from articles or other sources?
If you use a source other than your own original reporting in your tweets, you can’t embed them using Twitter media. If you would like to embed those types of tweets or any other tweets that contain links or images in your account, we recommend taking a screenshot instead. Any time you’re not sure if a tweet can be embedded into your account, it’s best to take a screenshot first and post it.
While there’s no doubt that Twitter has grown rapidly over the past few years, the microblogging platform still isn’t quite on the same level as Facebook or other social media sites in terms of active users. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of people who use Twitter every day and interact with their favorite accounts and brands on the platform. This can include just about anything from tweeting at celebrities to retweeting an interesting article or retweeting an announcement made by your company’s Twitter account.
In recent weeks, Twitter has made it clear that they really don’t want people to take screenshots of their tweets to share them on other platforms. The reasons behind this have been speculated on by people in the social media marketing and PR industries, but what has not yet been known is whether or not there is any legal basis to the efforts being made by Twitter to prevent this practice. Until now, that is…