Image: © itchaznong/Stock.adobe.com
Twitter confirmed that users will be able to change their tweets up to 30 minutes after its been published, with the feature being tested on Twitter Blue subscribers first.
After years of debate and uncertainty, Twitter has announced an edit button is coming to some users later this month.
The social media company confirmed it is testing the feature before rolling it out to Twitter Blue subscribers. This Edit Tweet feature will allow people to make changes to their tweet for up to 30 minutes after it has been published.
Tweets that have been edited will appear with an icon, timestamp and label to make it clear a modification was made. Tapping the label will let viewers see an edit history, which includes past versions of the tweet.
if you see an edited Tweet it's because we're testing the edit button
this is happening and you'll be okay
— Twitter (@Twitter) September 1, 2022
Twitter confirmed in April that it had been working on the long-awaited feature. In a tweet, the company said it planned to bring the feature to Twitter Blue subscribers first to see what works and what doesn’t.
“Like any new feature, we’re intentionally testing Edit Tweet with a smaller group to help us identify and resolve potential issues before it’s shared with the public.” A Twitter spokesperson said today (1 September). “Since this is our most requested feature, we want to make sure we get it right.”
Twitter said the feature will be launched in a single country at first and expanded as the company observes how it is used. The company said it wants to incorporate feedback and prevent potential misuse before releasing the feature fully.
The feature has been requested since Twitter first launched in 2006. However, the company has famously batted away any hope of an edit button over the years.
In 2019, senior Twitter executive Kayvon Beykpour said it was “nowhere near the top of our priorities”.
In an interview with Wired in 2020, Twitter co-founder and then-CEO Jack Dorsey spoke at length about why there was no edit button and why there was unlikely to be one in the future.
Dorsey, who has since stepped down as CEO, had also previously explained that one of the major concerns with an edit button was that it could be used to distort an original tweet’s meaning, which would be especially tricky when factoring in retweets.
Twitter has been testing a bunch of new features in recent years, with a mix of success and failure. The company rolled back its decision to default to an algorithm-based timeline in March after receiving pushback from users, and it retired its Fleets feature in 2021 just eight months after introducing it.
The social media company recently launched Twitter Circle globally, which is similar to Instagram’s Close Friends feature and lets users keep certain tweets private.
Despite the hype of the approaching edit feature, Twitter’s future remains uncertain. The company is locked in a legal battle with Elon Musk, while recent claims of “extreme” security issues from a former employee have grabbed the attention of both EU watchdogs and the US government.
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
