Is Twitter down? Why it says 'cannot retrieve tweets at this time'

Twitter users were reporting issues with the social media site on Friday evening.

Tweeters were left unable to navigate the site, post tweets or even log in to the platform.

According to Down Detector, issues started just after 5pm with people complaining that they couldn't get the app or website to load.

Problems with the social media site were recorded across the UK on Down Detector including London, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh. 

Social media apps on a phone screen. Credit: PA

Of the problems reported, 46% related to problems with the app while 45% related to problems with the website.

A further 9% of problems were linked to Twitter's login.

According to the heat map, the worst affected areas are Manchester and London. 

You can use the heat map on Down Detector to see if you are in one of the worst affected areas via the Down Detector website.

Downdetector only reports an incident when the number of problem reports is significantly higher than the typical volume for that time of day. 

You can visit the Downdetector Methodology to learn more about how it detected problems.

What is the Twitter error Twitter’s “Cannot Retrieve Tweets at This Time”

This error message is referring to the Twitter app’s ability to communicate with its servers. 

When this happens, you won't be able to download or read any tweets while the message is displayed.

There are a lot of potential causes, but they all lead to the same message.

When this happens you should check your network connection, update your app, check your security features and even walk away from the app for a while until the issue resolves.