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>> Can I export my team’s Direct Messages (DMs)? > No, we do not allow the export of Direct Messages. >> If I don’t export, will you delete my data? > Yes. O

>> Can I export my team’s Direct Messages (DMs)? > No, we do not allow the export of Direct Messages. >> If I don’t export, will you delete my data? > Yes. On 1pm PST, Saturday, December 11th 2021 we will delete all user data, whether or not you’ve exported it. Fantastic service.

dsizzle 5y ago
That's a really short window to salvage your data.
- meitros 5y ago
  This happened with another Twitter acquisition Smyte, where in that case they shut down the api immediately [1]. It seems like it’s some property of Twitter’s acquisition process? [1] https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/21/twitter-smytes-customers/amp/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/21/twitter-smytes-customers/a...
  - esjeon 5y ago
    So the Twitter lead engineer said "We're gonna learn from this". So they gone from 15 minutes (Smyte) to 4 days (Quill) - a 38400% improvement. /s
  - breakingcups 5y ago
    Apparently also happened with an app called Squad, exactly a year ago. https://twitter.com/squad/status/1337398991210725379 https://twitter.com/squad/status/1337398991210725379
  - atdrummond 5y ago
    I feel bad whenever I read about this because I’m friends with a Smyte founder and I know they absolutely didn’t want things to play out the way they did. I had hoped Twitter learned their lesson.
  - Alex3917 5y ago
    > It seems like it’s some property of Twitter’s acquisition process? What if there are serious security vulnerabilities though? I could see having a process where founders don't turn over their source code until midnight when the deal closes, and then the acquiring company gets the option to shut it down immediately if there are serious and unfixable security vulnerabilities discovered between midnight and 10am when the press release goes out. I'm not saying this hypothetical process is a good one, much less that this is what happened, but I could certainly imagine things playing out this way.
spoonjim 5y ago
The modern SV startup treats users the way that a coal miner treats a mountain or an LBO guy treats a middle market company. Just a resource to be exploited as they go from Engineering Manager at Salesforce to VP at Twitter and given nothing but the middle finger for their troubles.
- abernard1 5y ago
  I have known both EMs at Salesforce and VPs at Twitter, and believe me they return the favor. The idea that SV startups aren't staffed by ruthless business people is one of the sillier thoughts still percolating around. YC/HN and similar orgs are the child soldiers/shields of VCs. There isn't anything edgy or innovative about it, and hasn't been since the 90s.
  - abdel_nasser 5y ago
    what do you mean by this? child soldiers for VCs? you mean HN/YC kind of defends ruthless VC people because they are naive?
jimkleiber 5y ago
Hmm, does that violate GDPR? (Assuming a user is European and the law is actually enforced)
- scrollaway 5y ago
  Yes it does. You don’t necessarily have a right to the other side of the conversation, but your messages are your own data and you have a right to export them. That said, gdpr is untested in the context of data being deleted before it can be retrieved.
  - spoonjim 5y ago
    Sounds like a Quill customer should get their evidence in place because soon they'll be able to sue Twitter instead of Quill.
  - jimkleiber 5y ago
    Yea, I think GDPR is a bit of "national government trying to govern international commerce" and not doing it very well, yet it's still at least there in theory. Thanks for clarifying that for me.
  - Macha 5y ago
    Is it? The intent is to give the user access to data the company holds on them - it's not to make companies retain data indefinitely.
    - jimkleiber 5y ago
      Oh I was thinking more about the inability to export, or related to the data portability aspect, but I also don't have a very deep understanding of GDPR.
paxys 5y ago
Wow, 4 days to export (partial) data, and that too during the holiday season. If a system admin is out for the week say goodbye to your business.

dsizzle 5y ago

That's a really short window to salvage your data.

meitros 5y ago
This happened with another Twitter acquisition Smyte, where in that case they shut down the api immediately [1]. It seems like it’s some property of Twitter’s acquisition process? [1] https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/21/twitter-smytes-customers/amp/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/21/twitter-smytes-customers/a...
- esjeon 5y ago
  So the Twitter lead engineer said "We're gonna learn from this". So they gone from 15 minutes (Smyte) to 4 days (Quill) - a 38400% improvement. /s
- breakingcups 5y ago
  Apparently also happened with an app called Squad, exactly a year ago. https://twitter.com/squad/status/1337398991210725379 https://twitter.com/squad/status/1337398991210725379
- atdrummond 5y ago
  I feel bad whenever I read about this because I’m friends with a Smyte founder and I know they absolutely didn’t want things to play out the way they did. I had hoped Twitter learned their lesson.
- Alex3917 5y ago
  > It seems like it’s some property of Twitter’s acquisition process? What if there are serious security vulnerabilities though? I could see having a process where founders don't turn over their source code until midnight when the deal closes, and then the acquiring company gets the option to shut it down immediately if there are serious and unfixable security vulnerabilities discovered between midnight and 10am when the press release goes out. I'm not saying this hypothetical process is a good one, much less that this is what happened, but I could certainly imagine things playing out this way.

spoonjim 5y ago

The modern SV startup treats users the way that a coal miner treats a mountain or an LBO guy treats a middle market company. Just a resource to be exploited as they go from Engineering Manager at Salesforce to VP at Twitter and given nothing but the middle finger for their troubles.

abernard1 5y ago
I have known both EMs at Salesforce and VPs at Twitter, and believe me they return the favor. The idea that SV startups aren't staffed by ruthless business people is one of the sillier thoughts still percolating around. YC/HN and similar orgs are the child soldiers/shields of VCs. There isn't anything edgy or innovative about it, and hasn't been since the 90s.
- abdel_nasser 5y ago
  what do you mean by this? child soldiers for VCs? you mean HN/YC kind of defends ruthless VC people because they are naive?

jimkleiber 5y ago

Hmm, does that violate GDPR? (Assuming a user is European and the law is actually enforced)

scrollaway 5y ago
Yes it does. You don’t necessarily have a right to the other side of the conversation, but your messages are your own data and you have a right to export them. That said, gdpr is untested in the context of data being deleted before it can be retrieved.
- spoonjim 5y ago
  Sounds like a Quill customer should get their evidence in place because soon they'll be able to sue Twitter instead of Quill.
- jimkleiber 5y ago
  Yea, I think GDPR is a bit of "national government trying to govern international commerce" and not doing it very well, yet it's still at least there in theory. Thanks for clarifying that for me.
- Macha 5y ago
  Is it? The intent is to give the user access to data the company holds on them - it's not to make companies retain data indefinitely.
  - jimkleiber 5y ago
    Oh I was thinking more about the inability to export, or related to the data portability aspect, but I also don't have a very deep understanding of GDPR.

paxys 5y ago

Wow, 4 days to export (partial) data, and that too during the holiday season. If a system admin is out for the week say goodbye to your business.