Twitter rolls out option to download tweet archive
Some users on the microblogging site report having been given the option to request and download their entire tweet history.
Twitter has apparently begun rolling out a promised feature that allows users to download their entire archive of tweets.
Twitter users began tweeting last night about the appearance on a new settings feature that allows users to "Request your archive." A brief note under the new button informs users that "you can request a file containing your information, starting with your first tweet. A link will be emailed to you when the file is ready for download."
Twitter has finally provided the option to download all your tweets - twitter.com/nspeaks/status...
— Navjot Singh (@nspeaks) December 16, 2012
The new feature does not appear to be part of a wide rollout at this time; it was unavailable to this user. A Twitter representative told CNET that the company is currently testing the feature "with a very small percentage of users." (Image below shows what some users have reported seeing.)
CEO Dick Costolo announced during a keynote at the Online News Association conference in San Francisco in September that it expected to provide users with one of the most-desired capabilities by year's end. "[It's] a priority we absolutely want to have out by the end of the year," he said.
The move brings Twitter in line with other companies that allow export of data they create. Saying that "Users should be able to control the data they store in any of Google's products," Google's Data Liberation Front tool is designed "to make it easier for users to move their data in and out of Google products" such as Gmail and Google Drive. Facebook's Download Your Information allows users to get a copy of what they've shared on Facebook, such as photos, posts, messages, friends list, and chat conversations.
Updated at 1:50 p.m. PT with more information from Twitter.