Direct messages from UberSocial and Twidroyd can go public
If you’re using Twidroyd or UberSocial on BlackBerry or iPhone you’ll need to be careful for a while when sending direct messages. Apparently private messages longer than 140 characters sent by typing “d username” in the text box get sent to public according to tweets sent by Twitter via the @safety account.
UberMedia, the company behind the two apps had been in trouble with Twitter previously for a number of violations including trademark infringement, privacy issues, and violations of Twitter’s agreement on using its API. Twitter was so enraged that it shut down access to a number of UberMedia’s Twitter applications until the problems were rectified.
Among UberMedia’s previous violations, direct messages longer than 140 characters were published with Twitlonger making them available to be read by anyone on Twitlonger’s pages as long as they know the web address.
This time, while direct messages are no longer linked to Twitlonger, they can still be read publicly, which obviously defeats the entire purpose of them being private. This latest issue is probably how some people whose names are mentioned in a direct message can sometimes know that they’re being talked about.
Twitter is working with UberMedia to make sure every direct message stay private. In the meantime, users of UberSocial and Twidroyd will need to watch out when sending direct messages, at least make sure they don’t go beyond 140 characters before sending.
*it’s not April 1 in the US at the time of posting*
Our little cafe in the corner has now become a mall. We kind of miss the old little cafe, so here's something we put together to make it feel a bit more like home.
