Twitter users love nothing more than complaining about Twitter, and the company isn't likely to do much about most of those complaints. Much as we all wish that weren't true, least there are plenty of developers outside the company willing to make apps that improve the Twitter experience.
The official Twitter app seems designed to distract you from the timeline, with its various sidebars on the web version to the constant injection of irrelevant features on the mobile app. Good thing there are so many Twitter clients out there that focus on what you want to look at: tweets.
These applications allow you to browse the timeline, mentions, and more, all from a user interface that blends in with whatever operating system you like best. And on the desktop, they usually offer better keyboard shortcuts for accessing notifications, copying links, and so on.
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From scrolling through the timeline to creating threads, from containing trolls to scheduling Tweets in advance, there are all kinds of tools out there for Twitter users. Here are some of the best.
Best Twitter App for Troll Management
Block Party
Block Party (free, paid plans from $12 per month) is the nuclear option for when trolling gets so bad you can’t function. It can automatically block every Twitter account that liked a particular tweet,and it has great AI-assisted tools for muting harassment. It also lets you give access to a trusted friend during a harassment campaign, meaning they can browse your mentions and do the blocking for you. Block Party can also limit mentions from new accounts, accounts without many followers, and accounts without a profile. Upgrade to a Premium account for more features, like being able to filter users by keywords in their bios.
Best Twitter App for Scheduling Tweets
Buffer
Twitter offers the ability to schedule tweets in advance but it's limited. You can create tweets and schedule them whenever you want, but you can't get a clear view of what's going out when. Professional social media management software, such as Buffer, lets you schedule several posts in advance in a way that makes it easy to see and control.
Most social media management apps are overkill for people with a Twitter account for personal use, but Buffer isn't. It has a free version that lets you manage up to three accounts. A calendar view lets you not only schedule tweets in advance but also see when they'll go out, and you can drag and drop tweets to reschedule them. I use the app to schedule tweets with links to my articles so that I'm not pushing out five such tweets at once. Buffer offers more than enough power for most people, and you can always upgrade if the free version isn't enough.
Best Twitter App for Android
Harpy for Twitter
Harpy for Twitter (free; Pro version for $4.49) is a brand-new Twitter client for Android that's customizable and beautiful. It's so new that as of this writing it's technically in an open beta period, so anyone can use though it's not considered a finished product. I like it because it's much, much faster than the official Twitter client, and a media tab lets you browse only the images that are in your timeline. Even though it's still in beta, Harpy is a lot snappier and more stable than the official Twitter client. I can't recommend it enough.
Best Twitter App for Stopping Troll Dogpiles
MegaBlock
A dedicated troll campaign can quickly make Twitter unusable (believe me). All it takes is one prominent person to make an accusation, warranted or not, and your mentions are full of people joining in on the "fun." It's not a superficial problem, and it's particularly nasty if you're part of a marginalized community.
MegaBlock is a free tool that can help in such cases. It allows you to automatically block every single person who liked a particular tweet, which can be very useful when a toxic tweet is the source of a dogpiling. What MegaBlock does is extreme, clearly, but it's extremely effective in the case of a coordinated harassment campaign.
Best Twitter App for Reading Twitter Threads
Thread Reader
If you spend more time reading threads than writing them, the free Thread Reader is an app worth exploring. Thread Reader grabs any thread on Twitter and turns it into one complete text that's a lot easier to read. You copy the link to the first message in a thread and paste it into a field on Thread Reader's website; or you can reply to any tweet in a thread saying “@threadreaderapp unroll.” The result? The tweets are turned into an article. Thread Reader offers a Premium subscription for $3 per month or $30 per year that lets you archive threads to PDF, get real time alerts, and support the developers of this app.
Best Twitter App for Apple Devices
Tweetbot
Tweetbot (free to download; 99 cents per month or $5.99 per year) is a fantastic Twitter client for macOS, iPhone, and iPad. It's uncluttered, fast, and generally works the way a Twitter client should on an Apple device. Plus, there are advanced filtering features and the ability to view multiple columns at once.
Among the standout features on macOS are keyboard shortcuts, which make it possible to browse your timeline without ever touching your mouse or trackpad, but the main appeal for most users is going to be how much more streamlined everything feels.
Best Official Twitter Client
TweetDeck
All the apps mentioned in this list can't notify you when other people on Twitter retweet or like your posts, and certain features including polls aren't offered because of limits in Twitter's API. That may change as Twitter updates its API, but if not having notifications is a dealbreaker, you may want to think twice about using third-party Twitter apps. But there is another option.
TweetDeck (free) is a power user version of Twitter that's offered by Twitter itself and therefore doesn't have the same limitations as third-party apps. This web-only app supports multiple Twitter accounts and allows you to create a dashboard of columns where you can track timelines, notifications, and searches all at once.
Best Twitter App for Power Users
Tweeten
And, if you want more customization, Tweeten (free, donations accepted) is a desktop client for Windows (through Windows 10, but not Windows 11), macOS, and Chrome that puts TweetDeck in a dedicated window. At first glance, it looks like nothing more than TweetDeck in a new window, but dig into the settings and you'll find customizations, including font size and column width, along with features like GIF search and desktop notifications that you can interact with without opening the app. It's the best desktop client for power users right now.
Best Twitter App for Windows
Tweetz
Tweetz (free, donations accepted) is a minimal Twitter client for Windows that stays out of your way so you can focus on your timeline, which it puts in a dedicated window. There are no ads or other distractions—you can just scroll and read tweets. Images and videos load in a separate window, and you customize the display in all kinds of ways, choosing for example whether you want to see profile pictures, or changing the type point size.
Best Twitter App for Writing Twitter Threads
Typefully
Typefully (free with paid accounts starting at $10 per month) makes composing a Twitter thread as easy as typing paragraphs into a word processor. Just hit enter two times to signify when a new tweet should start. There's support for adding images and links, and you can also preview how your thread will look on Twitter before publishing it. Paid accounts add tweet scheduling, analytics, support for video uploads, automatic retweeting, and other features.
Twitter Users Make Twitter Better
Twitter may be a hellsite, but it's our hellsite. I personally have several close friends because of Twitter, and I credit the site with most of my job opportunities. I talk crap about Twitter because I love it, and I'm not alone.
Sometimes I wish Twitter the company cared about Twitter the experience as much as its users do. And to be fair, I’m sure many people inside the company do and work hard to make it better. Still, it’s nice to see so many people outside the company are also putting in work. The above apps prove that.
Want to take even more control over Twitter? Here's how to create a public Twitter circle and a complete list of ways to stay safe and secure on Twitter.
