Twitter announces testing of new ‘edit tweet’ feature

Made a mistake on a tweet? Don’t stress, social media giant Twitter says it is testing the new edit feature on the platform.

“If you see an edited tweet it’s because we’re testing the edit button, this is happening and you’ll be okay,” the company tweeted.

In a blog post on Thursday, Twitter said edited tweets are being tested internally and that the feature would expand to subscribers of its paid Twitter Blue service later this month.

Users outside the test group will also be able to see edited tweets on the platform.

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While many people have been calling for an edit button on Twitter for years, others have raised concerns about the potential implications of such a feature, including if a harmless tweet went viral and then was edited to include harassment or misinformation.

Twitter said in the test, tweets will be able to be edited “a few times” for up to 30 minutes after they are first posted.

“Edited tweets will appear with an icon, timestamp, and label so it’s clear to readers that the original tweet has been modified. Tapping the label will take viewers to the tweet’s edit history, which includes past versions of the tweet.”

“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.”

Twitter said it is intentionally testing the edit tweet feature with a smaller group to help it incorporate feedback while identifying and resolving potential issues which includes how people might misuse it.

“Later this month, we’ll be expanding edit tweet access to Twitter Blue subscribers. As part of their subscription, they receive early access to features and help us test them before they come to Twitter.”

Twitter added that the test will be localised to a single country at first and expand as it learns and observes how people use the new feature.

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