Search

Twitter Reveals Parts of Source Code Behind the Microsite's Algorithm

Elon Musk also said Twitter will update its recommendation algorithm based on user suggestions every 24 to 48 hours.

Advertisement
Highlights
  • The move comes at the behest of its billionaire owner Elon Musk
  • He said code transparency would lead to higher trust among users
  • Third parties should be able to analyze the open-sourced code
Twitter Reveals Parts of Source Code Behind the Microsite's Algorithm

Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion last year

Photo Credit: Reuters

Twitter on Friday made public parts of the computer code that decides how the social media site recommends content, allowing users and programmers a peek into its workings and the ability to suggest modifications to the algorithm.

The company said in a blog post it uploaded the code in two repositories on code-sharing platform Github. They include the source code for many parts of Twitter, including the recommendations algorithm which controls the tweets that users see on their timeline.

The move comes at the behest of its billionaire owner Elon Musk, who has said code transparency would lead to higher trust among users and rapid improvements to the product.

It also serves to address common concerns from users and lawmakers, who are increasingly scrutinizing social media platforms over how algorithms select the content that users see.

Musk tweeted on Friday that third parties should be able to analyze the open-sourced code and "determine, with reasonable accuracy, what will probably be shown to users."

"No doubt, many embarrassing issues will be discovered, but we will fix them fast!" he tweeted.

Musk also said Twitter will update its recommendation algorithm based on user suggestions every 24 to 48 hours.

On Friday, Musk and some Twitter employees held a session on Spaces, Twitter's audio chat feature, asking users to bring recommendations and questions about how the platform's code works.

One person questioned why Twitter's code appeared to classify users as Republicans or Democrats. A Twitter employee responded that it was an old feature that was not important to the platform's recommendation system, and the company was looking to remove it.

The repositories on Github do not include the code that powers Twitter's ad recommendations, the company said.

It also said it excluded code that would compromise user safety or privacy, as well as details that would undermine efforts to prevent child sexual abuse material on the platform.

The news also comes after parts of Twitter's source code were leaked on Github, which took down the code last week at Twitter's request.

Twitter asked the US District Court for the Northern District of California to order Github to produce "all identifying information" associated with the Github account that had posted the leaked code, according to a legal filing.

© Thomson Reuters 2023
 


The newly launched Oppo Find N2 Flip is the first foldable from the company to debut in India. But does it have what it takes to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

 
Show Full Article
Please wait...
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Motorola Razr 60 Ultra, Edge 60 and Edge 60 Pro Price Leaked Online
  2. Vivo X200 Ultra Confirmed to Launch in April; Could Arrive With Vivo X200s
  3. Vivo T4 5G Set to Launch in India Soon; to Be Available on Flipkart
  4. Tecno Camon 40 Series to Get 3 Years of OS, 5 Years of Security Updates
  5. Nothing Adds Camera Capture Feature to Phone 3a's Essential Space
  6. Nothing Announces Phone 3a Community Edition Project
  7. Apple Faces Challenges Designing Plastic Watch SE Model: Report
  1. Airtel IPTV Services With Netflix and Bundled OTT Apps Launched in India: Price, Benefits
  2. New Research Suggests Dark Energy Is Evolving, Challenging Cosmology Models
  3. Pulsar Fusion’s Nuclear Fusion Rockets May Revolutionise Space Travel
  4. 30,000-Year-Old Vulture Feathers Discovered, Uniquely Preserved in Volcanic Ash
  5. ISRO and IIT Madras Unveil Research Centre for Space Thermal Sciences
  6. Google X Introduces Taara Chip to Enable High-Speed Internet via Light Beams
  7. Supernova Remnants Found in Oceanic Samples, Scientists Look to Moon
  8. ESA’s Euclid Telescope Releases First Data, Mapping 26 Million Galaxies
  9. Alien Life May Survive on Planets Orbiting White Dwarfs, Study Finds
  10. NASA Reviews Boeing Starliner’s Future Amid Technical Challenges
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
App Store App Store
Available in Hindi
App Store
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »