Twitter Restricts Searches For Links To Meta's 'Threads', Users Complain

As the rivalry between Twitter and Threads continues to heat up, Twitter seems to be limiting search results for tweets containing links to Threads posts, The Verge reported. 

Several users of Meta's Twitter rival Threads have complained that they are unable to find links to Threads on the microblogging platform. Searching "url:threads.net" on Twitter returns zero results, despite there being a lot of tweets linking to the domain. If a user searches for Threads.net without the "URL:" in front, it shows unrelated tweets from users who have their Threads accounts in their display name. 

A user on Threads shared a screenshot of the same and posted, “Twitter is selectively blocking searches for tweets that link to Threads, even though they allow posting Threads URLs (for now).”

Post by @waxpancake

View on Threads

Some users on Twitter also complained about the same:

Twitter vs Threads

If you search Twitter posts with a link to Threads, you won't find them!

Before that Notes by @SubstackInc had a similar problem, when Twitter removed the ability to RT and Like posts with links to them for a few days.

But if you need : URL:“threads net” 🤫 pic.twitter.com/fCM1aneqs6

— iceoff 🌭 (@iceoff_eth) July 11, 2023

While the block doesn't currently appear to apply to everyone, many others are reporting the same thing.

The reason for Twitter's blocking of search results is not exactly clear. However, the Verge report indicated that it might have to do something with the ongoing rivalry between the two platforms. Twitter owner Elon Musk has been intensely critical of Threads ever since it was launched. 

Last week, Elon Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro wrote to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, accusing him of "unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property".

The letter accused Meta of hiring dozens of former Twitter employees who "had and continue to have access to Twitter's trade secrets and other highly confidential information."

Mr Musk, in response to a tweet citing the news said, "Competition is fine, cheating is not."

Notably, Threads is the biggest challenger yet to Musk-owned Twitter, which has seen a series of potential competitors emerge but not yet replace one of the world's biggest social media platforms, despite its struggles.

On Threads, people can post text and links and reply to or repost messages from others - an offering similar to Twitter's.