A Twitter update restores polls and adds iPad option to remove trends column

iPad with Twitter (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Twitter has released an update for its iPad and iPhone app.
The update restores polls after they were broken in a previous update.
It also adds an option to disable the new trends and search column.

Twitter has released an updated version of its iPhone and iPad app, restoring polls to their former glory. A previous update prevented some users from seeing the polls entirely and that has now been fixed. More importantly for some, it also adds an option to remove a feature that has caused quite the stir recently.

Starting with the bug fix, Twitter confirmed that the poll issue should be resolved in this latest update via its Twitter Support account last night.

Having trouble seeing polls in Tweets on iOS? Updating your app to version 8.7.1 when it becomes available for you in the App Store should help! Thanks for bearing with us while we worked on this.Having trouble seeing polls in Tweets on iOS? Updating your app to version 8.7.1 when it becomes available for you in the App Store should help! Thanks for bearing with us while we worked on this.— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) February 6, 2020 February 6, 2020

But there was no mention of a new feature that was first spotted by developer Steve Lederer. As Federico Viticci also shared, Twitter for iPad now has an option to completely disable the troublesome trends and search column. That's a column that was added a couple of months ago and has been the subject of much criticism ever since. And now it can be banished for good by flicking a simple toggle.

Update on this: Twitter has "fixed" the sidebar in its iPad app by offering a toggle in settings to disable the search column entirely (thanks for the tip @stevieled5).

Bye bye, trends 👋

And welcome back enlarged iPhone app that feels wasted on an iPad Pro 😔 pic.twitter.com/uM5ebARsIuUpdate on this: Twitter has "fixed" the sidebar in its iPad app by offering a toggle in settings to disable the search column entirely (thanks for the tip @stevieled5).

Bye bye, trends 👋

And welcome back enlarged iPhone app that feels wasted on an iPad Pro 😔 pic.twitter.com/uM5ebARsIu— Federico Viticci (@viticci) February 5, 2020 February 5, 2020

People appeared to dislike the column for several reasons, and not just because it wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing way of reading tweets. Some noted that it meant they were exposed to things they wouldn't normally want to see which is absolutely a valid concern. And now they don't have to.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.