Although the feature has been a top request from millions of users for a long time, it will only be available for Twitter Blue subscribers, or those who pay US$4.99 (RM22.38) for exclusive access to special features on the site. — dpa
Twitter’s most requested feature could finally be coming.
In a tweet sent out Thursday morning, the social media company announced that an “Edit Tweet” feature is now being tested by a small group of users.
According to a blog post from the company, the feature will allow users to go back and revise a post that has already been sent.
“Edit Tweet is a feature that lets people make changes to their Tweet after it’s been published. Think of it as a short period of time to do things like fix typos, add missed tags, and more,” Twitter stated.
How will the Twitter editing feature work?
The company says the reason they are testing editing capability with a small group of people is to make sure there aren’t any obvious ways people could abuse the feature.
One way that developers will hold tweet authors accountable is by allowing anyone on the platform to access a complete log of an edited tweet’s history with all previous versions of the post included, according to Twitter.
“For context, 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,” the company stated.
The time limit lasts for 30 minutes after a tweet has been published. Tweets that have been edited will be accompanied by an icon, a timestamp, and a label that lets the author’s followers know the tweet has been modified, the company said.
Is there a catch to Twitter editing
Although the feature has been a top request from millions of users for a long time, it will only be available for Twitter Blue subscribers, or those who pay US$4.99 (RM22.38) for exclusive access to special features on the site.
However, the company said that everyone, regardless of their subscription status will be able to see that a tweet has been edited.
“The test will then be initially expanded to Twitter Blue subscribers in the coming weeks,” Twitter said. “Given that this is our most requested feature to date, we wanted to both update you on our progress and give you a heads up that, even if you’re not in a test group, everyone will still be able to see if a Tweet has been edited.”
When will Edit Tweet become available for all users?
Darshil Patel, a full stack engineer and tech connoisseur, told The Charlotte Observer that Twitter’s slow evolution is a sign that normal users won’t be able to use it for a while.
“I would say it will be a very long time before the general public sees this feature,” Patel said. “Since its inception, Twitter’s most requested feature has been the edit feature and the fact that it has taken over 10 years to implement a feature that is very similar to how Facebook does it is very telling in how slow Twitter develops new features.”
Patel predicts that Twitter will keep Edit Tweet as an exclusive perk for Twitter Blue users in an attempt to attract new subscribers.
Nonetheless, Twitter is hopeful that the incorporation of the new feature will make the platform a more user-friendly place on the Internet — for everyone.
“We’re hoping that, with the availability of Edit Tweet, Tweeting will feel more approachable and less stressful,” the company stated. “You 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.” – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service
