NIGHTHAWK FOR TWITTER: BARE-BONES MOBILE APP FOR LESS NOISY SOCIAL MEDIA

Those who favor Twitter over rival social networks probably already have Tweetbot or Twitterrific installed on your IOS devices. Power users prefer such thirdparty alternatives to the official app, but everyone deserves an environment where branded content isn’t given preferential treatment over tweets from people you actually follow.

Billed as a “personal companion” to the corporate app, Nighthawk (go.macworld.com/nthk) offers a strippeddown version of Twitter without the

clutter. Sign in and get nothing but the good stuff: tweets displayed in chronological order, dark mode, rich link previews, and most importantly, no ads or other intrusions.

This experience can be further enhanced with Smart Filters, which allow users to hide selected topics like U.S. politics, Star Wars spoilers, support responses, and retweeted content. It’s a novel idea that works surprisingly well, but there are only six filters available, with no option to customize or create others from scratch.

If that isn’t calm enough for your liking, Close Friends allows users to view tweets from a curated list of

people you follow. This feature is accessed from a dedicated tab at the bottom, but choose wisely. Friends on this list are excluded from Smart Filters too, so you’ll want to exclude buddies who pontificate about hot topics. This list syncs to your Twitter account, where it also shows up in other clients, such as our preferred Tweetbot.

JUST THE BASICS

The developers of Nighthawk are quick to note they’re not trying to compete with more robust solutions like Twitterrific. An admirable position to be sure, but even as a basic Twitter client, the app could benefit from additional spit and polish.

For starters, searching for

Close Friends isn’t always reliable. Nighthawk would find certain users after entering just a few letters, while others required typing a complete

Twitter handle before they would surface. There’s no support for multiple accounts or push notifications, and app preferences are confusingly buried on your profile screen.

Worse yet, when composing a new tweet you can’t attach a photo or location.

On the plus side, you can customize the home screen icon with one of 17 different options—including eight funky Apple-inspired flavors—and the app is a universal build, so it works equally well on ipad and iphone.

BOTTOM LINE

Nighthawk is pretty bare bones as third-party Twitter apps go, but the developers appear committed to continued improvements, so keep this one on your radar. ■

Smart Filters are a great way to hide certain topics from showing up in your timeline, but there aren’t many to choose from.

Nighthawk’s so-called “Smart Feed” offers a cleaner view of your Twitter timeline in chronological order without ads or sponsored posts.

Add your best buddies to the Close Friends list, and with a single tap, you’ll be able to see nothing but their tweets.

You can customize the home screen icon with one of 17 different options.