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Twitter is making the design of the social network less customisable by virtually eliminating the use of background images. Previously, user-defined wallpaper images appeared behind profile pages, but now Twitter is going for a more uniform look.
Although users are still given the option to select a background in Settings > Design, it only appears on a select few pages. “We’re removing background images from the home and notifications timelines on web for all users,” a Twitter spokesperson told Mashable. “Now, background images are only available where logged-in users will see them publicly (Tweet pages, list pages and collections pages).”
In other words, your customised wallpaper is now all but invisible. Users are still given the option to change their profile photo, header photo and theme colour, but the background will remain plain white behind profile pages, preventing companies from using brand colours or images behind their profiles and regular users from stamping their personality on the pages.
The decision hasn’t exactly gone down a storm with Twitter’s users:
There is speculation that Twitter has made the change to give it more room for display advertising behind people’s Twitter profiles. Dick Costolo stood down as Twitter’s CEO last month, amid speculation that investors are growing weary of the company’s inability to profit from its userbase in the same way Facebook does.
