Twitter for iOS is currently testing a new way of opening web links in Safari with the Reader mode automatically turned on (via TechCrunch).
Safari's built-in Reader mode, usually activated by tapping an icon in the browser's search bar, enables users to load a distraction-free version of websites minus formatting, ads, links, and so on, with font type and size custom options available.
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The Guardian was the first to notice that all the links they were clicking on in the Twitter app defaulted to the Reader mode. Twitter later confirmed to TechCrunch that it is testing the feature with select users, the aim being "to refine the product and make Twitter easier to use", according to a spokesperson.
The downside to any potential rollout is that content publishers can't customize the Reader view of their site, nor will they be able to generate ad revenue from page views that come from Twitter links. And as pointed out by The Guardian, some sites do not display correctly in Reader mode, potentially detracting from the user experience.
Twitter developers are said to be testing a series of changes to the social media network, in an attempt to improve the service after the company's recent internal turmoil, such as layoffs, the shutdown of Vine, and its much-publicized failure to find a buyer.
Top Rated Comments
Come on, MacRumors, surely you can find some negativity in this. Apple is somehow destroying the squirrel population by this.
You need to find a new hobby.
Webmaster here! Not a huge fan of this, considering those pages aren't monetizable (AT ALL), but it really sucks considering we've really spent time optimizing our mobile pages in recent months (we're down to just 2-3 seconds to load vs. 20+ seconds to load a year ago).Beats sites that don't display properly without Reader mode.
Seriously, why do so few web masters appear to have even taken a glance at their mobile site?
As for the "why we don't look at our own mobile sites" thing, it's pretty simple. We spend the MAJORITY of our time on desktop computers. Up until recently, I haven't really been a huge mobile browser user, so it's one of those "out of sight out of mind type deals." (Not a good excuse though, but I'm being honest) However, within the past year or so I'd been getting inundated with e-mails/comments on social media about the poor performance of our mobile pages, so I made it a point to just browse the site on my phone for a few days/weeks to see how it worked. That's when I realized that our mobile pages SUCKED and I made it a point to get them cleaned up of any bad/slow code and ads that take forever to load.
Now our mobile site is good to go, and I haven't gotten any nasty e-mails/social media comments in months!