Twitter will now let you edit your Tweets up to five times
Twitter announced the start of the test for the Edit functionality. The news is currently reserved for users who have subscribed to Twitter Blue. The Californian company has now specified that messages can only be edited five times in 30 minutes.
By probing the details of the demo of the functions arriving on the official Twitter apps, in fact, it is possible to find a new command in the Tweet options. In addition to delete , pin on the profile, modify who can reply and add to the lists, there is the much desired “Edit tweet” button. That is to say, to modify the content already published. As confirmed on Twitter’s official communications profile, the preliminary tests will affect users who have subscribed to the Twitter Blue subscription from 2.99 euros per month for exclusive services and preview access to news.
There are no other details, but from what transpires, there will be some graphic indication on the modified Tweets to inform about the editing. It should also be possible to open the original message, a bit like on Facebook. A more than obligatory move since tweet editing could not only be used for minor typos and errors, but also to edit uncomfortable content and make first-hour comments or retweets irrelevant. It remains to be understood whether those who interacted with the message then modified will receive a notification so as to check the result.
Currently in the testing phase, tweet modification will be available within a few weeks within the paid Twitter Blue app. It had never happened that Twitter confirmed what has always been the most requested feature by users. After so many false starts, accompanied by giggles, memes and so on, Twitter confirms the start of a test, for now internal, on the tweet modification. And, as already leaked in recent months, it will be a paid feature. In fact, after this internal testing phase, the tweet modification will be made available on Twitter Blue, and only in one country, to get started.
At first, at the sight of the tweet with which Twitter, from its official account, reported the start of the test, it seemed like yet another joke, yet another push and pull already seen in recent years. But then everything was also confirmed on the Twitter blog, which has never happened before.
In detail, the tweet modification of Twitter will allow the modification of the text within 30 minutes of publication. The company does not establish how many times, but claims that the tweet can be edited “a few times” within 30 minutes. The text modification will be evident to all with an icon and the date of the last modification. By tapping on the label that appears, you can then access the history of the changes made to the text.
As you know, there has been much discussion in recent years about the possibility of modifying the content of a tweet and how to then preserve the integrity of the same, to avoid misleading changes.
In the face of this test, perhaps a reasonable modification period has been reached, the 30 minutes are more than enough. Above all, they do not leave the content editable at any time, as is the case on other platforms.
Before any other consideration, it is worth specifying that it is incorrect to say that the tweet modification arrives on Twitter Blue, thanks to Elon Musk. The founder of Tesla has practically nothing involved in this choice, quite the opposite. In his climb to get to the acquisition he tried to make the authorship of this choice in his name. But things are different. Twitter had already decided at the beginning of the year to make the tweet change available within the paid app. In January, when Elon Musk still didn’t think about 280 characters.
There is a limit to the number of changes
More than 16 years after the launch of the social network, Twitter has decided to start testing the functionality most requested by users (including Elon Musk). Initially the Edit button was only visible to a small group of users. It is now available to Twitter Blue subscribers residing in New Zealand. The functionality will arrive later in the other countries where the service is active, namely Australia, Canada and the United States.
Twitter wants to identify and fix any issues before the general release. The test will also be used to evaluate the possible “abuses” of the functionality. Perhaps this is why users will only be able to make five changes within 30 minutes of posting the tweet (but the durations may change). Under each message the date of the last modification is indicated, but it is possible to view the history.
The purpose of the functionality is to allow the correction of typing errors, avoiding the cancellation of the message and therefore the loss of likes and comments. However, there is a risk that the content of the tweet will be completely changed. In this case, likes and comments would represent an (unwanted) incentive to spread fake news. Twitter Blue subscribers will soon be able to test the functionality that allows you to edit the message within 30 minutes of publication.
After more than 16 years from the launch of the social network, users will finally be able to modify the message sent. The feature is not yet available to everyone. The Californian company has only started the test which will be accessible to Twitter Blue subscribers by the end of the month. This is the second major change after the move from 140 to 280 characters in 2017.
