What you need to know
- Away is a new app designed to help people use Twitter without actually using Twitter.
- Only specific data is made available via Away and there is no timeline.
It's unusual for a Twitter app to be designed to stop people from actually using Twitter but that's exactly the case with Away. The app, available for iPhone and iPad, was built to give people access to portions of Twitter without having them see their timeline at all.
In fact, Away doesn't have a Twitter timeline for you to look at even if you want to. Instead, the app offers a look at your unanswered direct messages as well as your latest tweet and any interactions with it. You'll also see how long it was since you last tweeted as well as how many followers you have, too. A nice touch? That follower count is rounded to help avoid anxiety related to whether it's gone down by one or two followers.
Features of Away include:
- unanswered direct messages
- stats for your latest tweets - replies, quotes, retweets, likes. Hide what you don't care about
- time since your last tweet
- number of followers - rounded or precise
- deep links to your installed client where you can interact with your audience
While you can see which incoming direct messages need to be replied to, Away will link into other Twitter apps when you actually want to send a message back.
If you're looking for a Twitter app that has lists, and search, and timelines, and everything else associated with the social network, Away isn't it. But if you want to be able to see your direct messages and how your last tweet is going, this is the way to go. You can download Away from the App Store (opens in new tab) right now and it's free. Multiple account support is behind the Away Pro in-app purchase, however.
