Twitter quietly began implementing a design change Monday that would surely rile many of its users, especially those who like to personalize their profile pages and notification timelines. The ability to customize the background theme has been turned off and users can no longer upload images or change to preset themes. Those who have existing visible background to their profiles will find that their theme has been reverted to white.
The change was initially unannounced, but rumors soon began to circulate as users wondered whether the site had broken, The Guardian reported. It prompted Twitter to issue a statement saying that the changes has been introduced Monday.
"We're removing background images from the home and notifications timelines on web for all users," a company spokesperson said in an interview with Mashable.
The move was supposedly a new policy aimed at making Twitter easier to use. Recognizing a potenital firestorm, Twitter pointed out that "background images are only available where logged-in users will see them publicly (Tweet pages, list pages and collections pages). You can find help centre content about customizing your design and where it's visible on Twitter here."
The blank canvas, which many now refer to as #blindingwhite in tweets, is meant to show off tweets instead of user profiles, BBC reported. As users realize the new development, many started sharing their frustration and annoyance.
this blank white background......like staring into the sun.......twitter...what did I do to wrong you. did I tweet too many bad tweets.
— Megan Brennan (@megthebrennan) July 20, 2015
Hey, Twitter. The #blindingwhite background is clean, boring, and not what I chose. Aside from that, it's brilliant. — Harry Shearer (@theharryshearer) July 21, 2015
A developer was reported to have discovered a way around. But it included an installation of a Chrome browser plugin that would allow users to revert their Twitter back to its previous setting, according to The Guardian. The report, however, did not mention more details about it or a link to where it can be downloaded. If this works, Firefox and Safari users will not only have to download a plugin but also an additional browser as well just to view a more visually appealing Twitter profile.
