X, formerly Twitter, made some changes during the Summer of 2023 that affect how web designers are allowed to use embedded X ACCOUNTS and embedded LISTS in websites. The changes from X required design changes on subsites of CARDINAL NEWS, known as m.arlingtoncardinal.com or 360Mediax.com and also m.arlingtoncardinal.com/chicago or ChicagoMediaX.com. Trouble with the display of X timelines are related to the default configurations of web browsers related to tracking viewer (users).
Here are the details …
THINGS TO KNOW …
Twitter is now X.
Tweets are now POSTS.
360Mediax.com AND m.arlingtoncardinal.com are the same website.
ChicagoMediaX AND m.arlingtoncardinal.com/chicago are the same website.
Embedded x.com (Twitter) timelines on websites, including 360Mediax.com, ChicagoMediaX, and Arlingtoncardinal.com do not function properly if a web browser user is not logged in to an X account in a web browser. On a smartphone, such as Apple iPhone, the user must be logged in to an X account on the Safari iOS browser –the X app doesn’t qualify. If you have the X app on your iPhone, you will have difficulty logging in to X on Safari, because going to Twitter.com or X.com will send your view to the app, not the browser. You must direct your browser to twitter.com/login or x.com/login in order to log in to the browser without being referred to the X app.
Additionally, embedded x.com (Twitter) timelines on these websites (and any other website worldwide for that matter) will likely not work when a web browser’s Cross-Site Tracking Prevention is turned ON (usually turned on by default). Browser users must turn this web browser privacy feature off to see X.com timelines properly when they are viewing websites with embedded X.com timelines. This condition emerged during the Summer of 2023 (mostly July) when X.com (formerly Twitter) adjusted their system in a manner that did not allow the display of embedded Twitter timelines in websites if the viewers of those websites were using a browser that doesn’t allow cross-site tracking.
Cross-device tracking techniques are used by advertisers, for example, to help identify which channels are most successful in helping convert browsers into buyers. The privacy concern arises for browser users regarding privacy policies, health care providers, and financial institutions that may release the data they collect after the data has gone through a de-identification process.
Browser fingerprinting relies on a user’s browser and is a way of identifying users or viewers every time they go online — tracking each user’s activity. Through fingerprinting, websites can determine the user’s operating system, language, time zone, and browser version without a viewer’s permission. De-anonymization is the practice (including using browser fingerprinting) of matching anonymous data (also known as de-identified data) with publicly available information, or auxiliary data, in order to construct and discover the identity of the person that is using a web browser to view websites.
Tracking can be a good thing because it helps web designers build better websites, and it can be helpful for researchers — particularly in health care. Tracking can become a bad thing if bad actors work extra hard to construct a profile (via de-anonymization) that could specifically identify each user and then manipulate, harass, strategize against, or commit a crime against a particular user.
Note: There are other methods of identifying individuals browsing on a website — especially methods available to law enforcement.
CROSS-SITE TRACKING …
When a web page is not working properly, a browser user or viewer can turn OFF Cross-Site Tracking Prevention. Besides X or Twitter issues, there are many other issues on a website that may be solved by turning off Cross-Site Tracking Prevention.
Some browsers allow a broad setting that turns off Cross-Site Tracking on ALL originating websites, and some browsers only turn off all Cross-Site Tracking for one specific originating website at a time. Conditions that prevent Cross-Site Tracking are usually activated by default on all browsers upon installation (or from the original device factory settings). To prevent confusion, notice that if a browser user is TURNING OFF Cross-Site Tracking Prevention, the user is TURNING ON the condition of Cross-Site Tracking. The methods below that allow Cross-Site Tracking were retrieved late August 2023, and configuration methods may be changed by browser updates without immediate notice on this page.
HOW TO in Safari:
Safari Example (Mac OS): In the Menu bar, click Safari and then Preferences… In the window that opens, click Privacy and uncheck the box next to Prevent cross-site tracking (This is a broad setting that works across all websites viewed on Safari).
In less words …
Safari Example (MacOS): Menu: Preferences: Privacy Tab: Uncheck “Website tracking: Prevent cross-site tracking.Safari Example (iOS): Apple iPhone Settings: Safari: Turn OFF Privacy & Security Prevent Cross-Site Tracking
Notice that the Safari iOS example (like the MacOS example) turns off Cross-Site Tracking as a broad setting for all websites.
HOW TO in Google Chrome
Using Google Chrome, a user must configure the browser to NOT Send a “Do Not Track” request with browsing traffic.Desktop/Laptop Example: Preferences menu: Settings: Privacy and Security: Third-Party Cookies: Send a “Do Not Track” request with your browsing traffic (OFF position/slider left).
Mobile Example (iOS): Apple iPhone settings: Chrome: Allow Cross-Website Tracking (ON position/slider right).
NOTE: ON/OFF position in mobile is opposite the desktop/laptop method because the desktop user is turning protection OFF, and the mobile user is turning the ability to track ON.
HOW TO in Firefox:
FireFox Example: Firefox classifies this Cross-Site Tracking prevention as Enhanced Tracking Protection. The Firefox setting is site-specific.
The Mozilla community (founders of Firefox) recommend that if a site seems broken, try turning off Enhanced Tracking Protection. The “off” condition for the specific website allows all trackers to load that might be cross-tracked to that site only. Enhanced Tracking Protection will continue to block trackers on other sites.
Desktop/Laptop Example: Click on the Shield Icon to the left of the address bar while viewing a specific website.
Toggle the switch at the top of the panel to turn Enhanced Tracking Protection to OFF.
This will turn off Enhanced Tracking Protection for the website you were on when you clicked the shield in the address bar. The page will reload automatically and allow trackers on this site only.
Follow the same process to turn Enhanced Tracking Protection back on.
Firefox example (iOS): Apple iPhone settings: Firefox: Allow Cross-Website Tracking (Turn ON to allow cross-site tracking).
NOTE: ON/OFF position is opposite the desktop/laptop method because the desktop user is turning protection OFF, and the mobile user is turning the ability to track ON.
Users may encounter breakage on some sites when browsers are configured with Strict Enhanced Tracking Protection. This is because trackers are hidden in some content. For example, a website might embed an outside video or social media post that contains trackers. To block the trackers, Firefox must also block the content itself.
Trackers are often hidden in the following types of content:
Login fields
Forms
Payments
Comments
Videos
During the summer of 2023, Twitter made changes so that Twitter LISTS cannot be embedded in a publisher’s web page. Therefore, currently 360Mediax provides link referrals to LISTS directly into X.
X (formerly Twitter) LISTS are a nice feature because they allow a publisher to share a customized list of a number of combined X ACCOUNTS into one timeline. For example, a publisher could provide LISTS for a number of different city TV news stations. There could be one list for Chicago, one for New York, and one for Los Angeles — each LIST limited to TV news stations from a specific city. These LISTS aren’t limited to TV News cities, of course. You could have your favorite stores combined in one list, your favorite musicians … really any category.
Most browsers with Cross-Site Tracking Prevention turned on will not allow embedded X ACCOUNT timelines to function either. However, in July 2023, individual X accounts could be embedded again, and display properly if users TURN OFF Cross-Site Tracking Prevention in their browser’s settings.
If users don’t want to TURN OFF Cross-Site Tracking Prevention, they must use the links available on the page and view the X.com timelines directly on X.com (website or app).
What’s the difference between an ACCOUNT and LIST? Here is an example: an ABC 7 Chicago ACCOUNT timeline would only include posts from ABC 7 Chicago. A custom-made Chicago TV News Station LIST timeline might include posts from ABC 7 Chicago, CBS Chicago, WGN News, NBC Chicago, FOX 32 Chicago — all in one timeline.
ANOTHER PROBLEM …
Performance seems to be a little slower on X than the former Twitter, so 360Mediax.com now provides shorter embedded ACCOUNT timelines with additional links to ACCOUNTS directly in X, and –– as mentioned above –– referral links directly to LISTS in X.
The longer timelines seemed to slow things down.
+++++ IMPORTANT ++++
If you’re not logged in to X, and you are viewing a website with X embeds placed in the web page, you won’t see the latest X posts from the X account. You might see a “most recent tweet” from the year 2019 or 2022 or something, even if there are more recent posts available on that particular X account. Also, you might see a message that there is nothing to see here for the ACCOUNT. You can see properly displayed timelines on X or the X app only if you’re logged in to X.
Formerly (when users weren’t logged in), if their directed browsers to any Twitter ACCOUNT — let’s say Twitter.com/ABC7Chicago, for example — they would see the Twitter timeline for ABC 7 Chicago. Currently with X.com, all browser referrals to the web address of an X.com ACCOUNT are met with a log-in gateway that doesn’t allow the user to see the timeline for the X.com ACCOUNT.
++++++++
ANOTHER BIG CHANGE involves smartphones or iPhones; and that is that viewers cannot see the latest X POSTS in an embedded timeline unless they are logged in to X in the same browser that is displaying the 360MediaX website. If you have the X app on your iPhone, for example, and are not logged in to X on iOS Safari, then you won’t see the latest X POSTS in a timeline. In some cases, you might not see the timeline at all.
You are required to log in to X whether you using X directly or whether whether you want to successfully view embedded X timelines in a web page.
If CARDINAL NEWS provides a link to Twitter.com or X.com, the link still takes Apple iPhone users to the X App, which prevents users from being able to log in to X on the Safari browser. So instead, CARDINAL NEWS provided a link to Twitter.com/login or X.com/login … and that worked — users can log in to the browser — even when the X app is active. Browser logins also appear to work if a user types X.com or Twitter.com directly into the Safari URL address field.
360MediaX.com is not affiliated with X.com
SOURCES:
Mozilla Support | Enhanced Tracking Protection in Firefox for desktop