Before starting, I think it is necessary to clarify it, although you have probably already deduced it when you see the Basics label in the image above: Let’s talk about Twitter’s limits related to the use of the functions of the service, that is, those that are quantifiable and that have limits. Some fixed and others dynamic, but always associable to a particular number. Put another way, we won’t talk about the types of content that break the rules of Twitter and the like, mainly because there’s no number or formula that determines whether or not a message is acceptable.
No, although this topic is interesting, and gives rise to a debate that can go on for a long time (note to myself: publish an entry soon to open a debate on those other limits of Twitter), this time we are going to focus on a small but interesting set of numbers, which will help us to better understand the use we can make of this social network, and not to be surprised if, at some point, we see a message that tells us that we have exceeded the quota limit (it is not easy eye).
Twitter is a simple social network. Not as much as in its origins when it seemed like an ode to minimalism, but it is still reasonably simple and, consequently, the list of Twitter’s limits, the measurable ones, is quite short. And besides, the limits are quite flexible, especially for private accounts, so you better not intend to exceed them, because in the end that can end up being a full-time job.
The first of Twitter’s limits is the number of tweets you can post per day: 2,400. I’m sure you’ve done the math in your head at one point and yes, that means you’d have to post 100 tweets per hour for an entire day to reach that limit. If there is so much you need to tell, it may be better to resort to other tools, such as the future Twitter Notes… or a lifelong blog.
Another of Twitter’s limits that worries the most talkative users is daily direct message limit: 1,000. For users who use Twitter direct messages as an alternative to instant messaging services, this limit may be a bit tighter. Solution? Use an instant messaging service, that’s what they are for.
How many accounts can you follow? In this case we find two Twitter limits, the daily and the total, but with an important difference between the two, since the first is a fixed value, while the second is dynamic. Twitter allows us to follow a maximum of 400 accounts per day, and this is the hard limit, which is further supplemented by the rules that prohibit mass following. And as for the total, it starts from the 5,000 accounts, but in this case it is dynamic, and it is calculated based on the ratios of each account, so don’t be surprised if you see accounts with a list of followers of a much higher value.
A lesser known limit is that of updates per day, i.e. the number of times you can reload your timeline to check for new messages, your notification list, etc. In this case, a number that we have seen previously is repeated: 2,400, although in this case Twitter divides them into half-hour intervals. That is, every 30 minutes you can check for updates a maximum of 50 times, more than once per minute. If that limit falls short, you may need a linden, a valerian or both.
And the last of Twitter’s limits is possibly the one that surprises me the most, although I understand that it must be adjusted thinking of mistakes that may be made during the process. And it is that Twitter allows you to change the email account associated with the Twitter account up to four times per hour. If someone falls short of that limit, I really need to know that story.
More information: Twitter Help Center
