Twitter is finally giving its users the new feature they have most requested, an edit button.
The social media platform revealed that if users see an edited Tweet, it’s because “we’re testing the edit button”. This, Twitter explained, is happening and users will “be OK”.
It is currently testing the feature and will roll it out in the coming weeks to subscribers of Twitter Blue, which costs $4.99 (£4.33) per month.
Tweets will be available to edit a few times in the 30 minutes after posting. Twitter Blue is currently available in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, but initial tests will be limited to just one country.
Twitter revealed that edited tweets will appear with an icon, timestamp and link to their “Edit History” to “protect the integrity of the conversation and create a publicly accessible record of what was said”.
“… Tweeting will feel more approachable and less stressful.”
Twitter
Twitter stated that participants on the platform should be able to participate in the conversation in a way that makes “sense to you and we’ll keep working on ways that make it feel effortless” to do just that.
Reactions to Twitter’s new button
The company’s co-founder and former chief executive had stated it would probably never provide an edit button. However, in April, Elon Musk, then planning to buy the company, posted a Twitter poll, in which 73.6% of the 4.4 million respondents said they wanted one.
Some maintain it is unnecessary or contrary to the spirit of the platform.
Southpaw, a Twitter user, stated that Twitter has long had a superior edit button called “delete” which allows one to remove a bad tweet and repost a better one without anyone being confused about what happened.
“Why is Twitter bowing to the pressure of giving us an edit button? It will spoil the whole originality and ‘receipt’ uniqueness of the platform”, another twitter account reacted.
It will be recalled that Twitter in April this year confirmed that it is working on an edit button that would allow users to change tweets after they have been posted.
Many users have long called for an edit button but there are concerns about how to execute it. Twitter said it would start testing the idea in the coming months.
The social media firm’s communications team tweeted: “Now that everyone is asking… yes, we’ve been working on an edit feature since last year! No, we didn’t get the idea from a poll”.
“We’re kicking off testing within @TwitterBlue Labs in the coming months to learn what works, what doesn’t, and what’s possible.”
Twitter
Users of Twitter Blue, the platform’s subscription service, get early access to features it is testing. Under an edit function users could be able to fix typos or errors in a tweet without losing any replies, retweets or likes it has already gained.
Jay Sullivan, the company’s Vice President of Consumer Product, noted that it had been “the most requested Twitter feature” for many years.
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