Twitter is taking down animated PNGs from its platform. In an official announcement, the micro-blogging platform has mentioned that they are blocking the animated PNGs because it was not respecting their autoplay setting.
To further explain why they have taken such a decision, Twitter also explained that it is a precautionary measure that they are taking in order to avoid any possible mishaps that can occur with epileptic patients. Twitter very recently discovered a bug that allows the users to add multiple animated PNGs in a single tweet and this bug allows it to bypass the autoplay protection file format that Twitter has been using. Management suspected that this bug can be misused by trolls and scammers on Twitter to trigger a seizure in epileptic patients. Although Twitter has denied any information in this regard, they are saying it is just a precaution that they are taking in order to make the platform user-friendly and safe for all users.
Most users have since complained that the platform will no longer be as interesting without the use of animated PNGs. Experts are saying that users will still have access to animated images and they can add these images to tweets but they have to rely on Gifs. Furthermore, it has been seen that most users were either not aware of the use of animated PNGs or they were just using Gifs more frequently than any other form of animation, which means that removing or blocking the animated PNGs will not affect the way most users are already using the platform. Apart from this, Twitter is currently working on adding alt-text Gifs to make it more user-friendly for people mainly relying on the feature or depending on-screen reading for navigation. In short, Twitter might have removed one feature but they have thought it through so they are adding more features to make it user-friendly and interesting.
Photo: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Read next: These are the Most Influential People on Twitter
To further explain why they have taken such a decision, Twitter also explained that it is a precautionary measure that they are taking in order to avoid any possible mishaps that can occur with epileptic patients. Twitter very recently discovered a bug that allows the users to add multiple animated PNGs in a single tweet and this bug allows it to bypass the autoplay protection file format that Twitter has been using. Management suspected that this bug can be misused by trolls and scammers on Twitter to trigger a seizure in epileptic patients. Although Twitter has denied any information in this regard, they are saying it is just a precaution that they are taking in order to make the platform user-friendly and safe for all users.
- Also read: Twitter Provides Info on Unavailable Tweets
Most users have since complained that the platform will no longer be as interesting without the use of animated PNGs. Experts are saying that users will still have access to animated images and they can add these images to tweets but they have to rely on Gifs. Furthermore, it has been seen that most users were either not aware of the use of animated PNGs or they were just using Gifs more frequently than any other form of animation, which means that removing or blocking the animated PNGs will not affect the way most users are already using the platform. Apart from this, Twitter is currently working on adding alt-text Gifs to make it more user-friendly for people mainly relying on the feature or depending on-screen reading for navigation. In short, Twitter might have removed one feature but they have thought it through so they are adding more features to make it user-friendly and interesting.
Photo: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Read next: These are the Most Influential People on Twitter
