This article was published on March 11, 2021

Twitter will now display full images in your timeline (Updated)


Twitter will now display full images in your timeline (Updated)

Update 20/05/2021 3PM IST: Twitter rolled out a new feature to make full images appear on the timeline on May 6. In a blog post last night, the company added that it has reduced dependency on the automated algorithms for cropping very large or wide images, and you’ll see how your image looks on the timeline in the composer window itself.  In short, Twitter’s automatic cropping will no longer rely on the saliency matric, and will try to present the whole image as is. 

Last September, a ton of users found that Twitter’s image cropping algorithm seemingly had a white bias. In response, Twitter said it would give users control over how images appear on their feeds while the possible bias was being investigated — but then never delivered…until now.

The company announced last night that if you post a single image on your feed, it’ll appear the same as it looked in the composer. The platform is currently testing this feature on its iOS and Android apps.

While Twitter’s announcement is a welcome one, it might not address bias in all situations. When pointing out the problem last year, users usually posted two images together to show the algorithm always opted to focus on the white person in the picture. So if you repeat the tweet below, you’ll still probably get the same horrible results.
If you’re posting just one image, you’ll be probably able to see the full image in the preview.

The 💜 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

Personally, I’m also excited about this new feature because I post a lot of memes on Twitter. And often the app’s algorithm crops out the part that’s the punchline for that meme. So then I have to readjust the dimensions of that image so the meme is properly visible and I get that sweet internet validation from strangers that makes my life complete.

Thanks to this new feature, I wouldn’t have to worry about cropping for a single image. Well done, Twitter.

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Also tagged with