Twitter announced today that the long-awaited “edit Tweet” feature is being tested internally, with the test to expand to Twitter Blue subscribers in the coming weeks.
As Twitter’s most requested feature, users that are not part of a test group will still be able to see if a Tweet has been edited. During the testing phase for Twitter Blue subscribers, Tweets will be editable for the 30 minutes following their publication. Edited Tweets will be identifiable via an icon, timestamp and label to make edits clear and transparent to all Twitter users of a Tweet’s modification.
Twitter says: “The time limit and version history play an important role here. They help protect the integrity of the conversation and create a publicly accessible record of what was said.”
Since its launch in 2006, Twitter has gone through a few user interface changes. Most notably is its introduction of threads and the increase of its character limit from 140 characters to 280. With the appeal of Twitter long being held in its simple interface, the edit button marks the platform’s most significant change in terms of user interaction and experience since the character limit increased in 2017.
Jay Sullivan, Twitter’s GM of consumer and revenue products said in a tweet announcing the edit button: “Edit Tweet goes beyond fixing typos. It takes some of the pressure off Tweeting, especially for people who don’t Tweet as often. This is one of many features we’re exploring to help people join the global conversation on their own terms.”
With Twitter being in hot water over the platform’s misuse by users for the spread of misinformation, Twitter said they are: “Intentionally testing Edit Tweet with a smaller group to help us incorporate feedback while identifying and resolving potential issues. This includes how people might misuse the feature. You can never be too careful.”