Going back in time on Twitter, now known as X, feels a bit like digging up the past of someone’s online life. But there’s a catch. When you try to scroll way back on someone’s Twitter page, you might hit an invisible wall that stops you. This makes you wonder: What is the limit of how far down you can scroll on X (Twitter)? Even though it seems like you can keep scrolling forever, people’s experiences tell a different story. We’re going to look into what users say about this and some tricks they’ve found to get around these scrolling limits on X (Twitter), especially how it’s different when you’re on a computer, Android, or iPhone.
Also see: How to See Someone’s (or Your Own) First Tweet on Twitter
User experiences with X (Twitter) scrolling limit
On sites like Reddit, people using X (Twitter) have shared different stories about how far back they can look through someone’s tweets. Some say there’s a definite stopping point where they can’t see tweets past a certain date. Others find this limit changes, maybe depending on the day or the device they’re using. This has left a lot of folks scratching their heads and feeling annoyed because they can’t get to older tweets they want to see for research or just for fun.
There are reports of people not being able to see the very first tweet of an account, even if the account has fewer than Twitter’s known cap of 3,200 visible tweets. Interestingly, they noticed they could go further back and see older tweets when on a computer compared to a phone.
For those wanting to get to the bottom of their X timeline quickly, hitting the End key on web browsers can help (though you might have to press it more than once). But this trick doesn’t work on iPhone or Android, as they don’t have an “End” key. The different scrolling limits on X (Twitter) could be because of the way web browsers and the Twitter app on Android or iPhone handle loads of tweets differently.
Useful guide: How to Bold and Italicize on X (Twitter) without X Premium
Known limits of how many tweets you can view
Twitter, or X, has set limits on how many tweets you can read in a day—8,000 for verified accounts, 800 for regular unverified accounts, and 400 for new unverified accounts. This was done to stop data scraping, which is when bots collect a lot of data from the platform, which can be a privacy risk and mess with the platform’s security.
But these daily reading limits are different from the scrolling limits we run into when trying to go back in time on someone’s X profile. The daily caps are straightforward, but they don’t really explain how the scrolling works or why it’s limited.
Linked issue: Why does Twitter say “Something went wrong, but don’t fret”?
How far bottom can you scroll on an X (Twitter) profile?
What people have noticed is that you might be able to scroll back further on a desktop computer than on a smartphone using the Twitter mobile app. The reason for this isn’t totally clear, but it might have to do with how much power your device has, differences in app versions, and how Twitter’s system shows tweets on different devices.
Also, the experience isn’t the same on all mobile operating systems. iPhone and iPad users have found it tougher to scroll back on the Twitter app, a problem not as big on Android devices or the web. It seems like the Twitter app might work a bit differently on iOS, maybe because of how it’s designed or how it interacts with iOS’s own limits.
Related resource: Twitter “Something went wrong. Try reloading.” on Chrome
Workarounds to scroll further down on X (Twitter)
Even though X doesn’t officially tell us how to get past these scrolling limits, some users have figured out their own ways. For instance, iOS users found out that by switching to the “Replies” tab when looking at someone’s tweets and then switching back, they could suddenly see more tweets.
And on desktops, hitting the End key can shoot you down to the bottom of a Twitter page, though this trick doesn’t seem to help on mobile apps. These little tips give us a way to dig deeper into someone’s tweet history for now.
Possible reasons for limitations of scrolling on X (Twitter)
The reason behind these scrolling limits might be to keep X running smoothly and fast, by not loading too much data all at once. This is really important on mobile devices where there’s less memory and power than on computers.
Also, limiting how much you can scroll helps keep bots and scrapers from collecting too much data, which can be annoying for users and a risk for the platform. Even though these limits can be frustrating, they’re probably there to make sure everything runs smoothly and keeps our data safe.
So, what have we learned?
In the end, even though X doesn’t openly talk about these scrolling limits, it’s clear from what users have found that they exist and can change depending on what device you’re using and what kind of account you have. There are also daily tweet view limits for different accounts, which might play into how far you can scroll. People have come up with some clever ways to get around these limits, but we’d all appreciate it if X would give us a straight answer on why these limits are there. Until then, we can rely on each other to share tips and tricks on how to see more tweets.
