Twitter for Mac enables timeline streaming in latest update

Some six months after Twitter returned to Mac, the ubiquitous social media platform updated its Catalyst app to support timeline streaming, a feature previously restricted to TweetDeck.

The latest version of Twitter allows users to pin their "Latest Tweets" to the top of the app's timeline, effectively allowing streaming of new tweets. A popular feature, timeline streaming was disabled for third-party clients last year and was absent from Twitter's own flagship product when it relaunched in October.

To activate the capability, users must toggle a radio button in the app's timeline settings.

"Turning it on will keep you at the top of your timeline and let the latest Tweets stream in — no need to manually refresh your timeline," the company said in a tweet posted to its support account on Monday.

The addition of live content streaming arrives months after Twitter returned to Mac as a Catalyst app, ending a nearly two-year hiatus from Apple's desktop platform.

Shortly after the original Twitter for Mac app was pulled in early 2018, Twitter disabled third-party access to timeline streaming over Wi-Fi. The service provided a continuous stream of new, live tweets without need for manual refreshes.

With popular apps like Tweetbot essentially nerfed by the move, users looking to stay abreast of the Twittersphere were forced to migrate to TweetDeck. Today's update represents a first-party option that will likely appeal to those averse to TweetDeck's many foibles.

Twitter is a free download from the App Store.