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50-person private notes and dark mode added to Twitter for Mac

Twitter promised and it has finally delivered. Earlier this year it announced it was working on a brand new version of the Mac app for its social networking service, and now it’s available. The update gives it a new look, as well as adding a dark mode and support for new image standards just for starters.

“Twitter for Mac is getting the update you’ve been asking for. Now it looks and feels more like the Twitter you carry with you everyday. We’ve built in some of the most requested features so your Twitter for Mac experience combines what you love about Twitter with the elegance you expect on a Mac,” reads the new description on the App Store page.

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The overall look of the new interface in this large-scale 4.0 update fits more in line with OS X Yosemite and El Capitan updates. As 9to5Mac points out, there’s also a new Notification Center widget located in the Today view now, making it easier to see when someone is trying to get your attention — directly or otherwise.

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If you find the color scheme too bright, however, there’s a new dark mode now available, which exchanges all white surfaces for black instead, making it much more comfortable on the eyes, especially in darker environments.

Other updates include full support for GIFs, so there’s no longer a need to leave your timeline to watch an animation; group direct messaging, so you can create and receive private notes with as many as 50 other people; a mute mode to silence specific accounts so you never see them in your feed; a quote tweet feature, letting you tag a joke or apply your comment to something in particular; and new in-line video playback, so you can see videos directly in your feed.

Unfortunately though, despite the big list of updates, there’s quite a few negative comments from users popping up on the app page and other related comment sections. Some are reporting poor performance, with a jerkiness to transitions and scrolling, and some are saying that the ability to zoom in on photos is gone.

One user even suggested that there are no longer unlimited characters allowed in direct messages.

Have you tried the new app out? If so, what did you think?

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…
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