Microblogging site Twitter has introduced a feature that allows users to shorten the length of website addresses they wish to share down to 19 characters.
The feature, which had become standard on Twitter client TweetDeck – which Twitter acquired recently for US$40m – is long overdue on the main Twitter site.
Users just paste a link of any length into the Tweet box on Twitter.com and after the user hits the ‘Tweet’ button the link is automatically shortened to 19 characters.
New service increases security
“Sharing links on Twitter.com is now simple and instant,” Twitter said in its blog last night.
“Plus, since we show a shortened version of the original link, people will know which site the link points to. This service also increases security. If users click links that are reported as malicious, we direct them to a page that warns them.”