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After years of pleading from its userbase, Twitter is finally rolling out an ‘edit tweet’ function, the company revealed in a blog post on Thursday. However, ordinary users need not apply.
“Tweets will be able to be edited a few times in the 30 minutes following their publication,” Twitter explained in the post announcing the new feature, adding that edited tweets would be clearly marked with an “icon, timestamp, and label so it’s clear to readers tag the original tweet has been modified.”
The label will include a Wikipedia-style ‘edit history’ depicting all previous versions so as to “protect the integrity of the conversation,” the platform reassured users.
But despite the popular rejoicing one might expect to follow the introduction of the long-desired edit capability, Twitter is keeping it under lock and key for now.
Currently under testing with a “small group” to “capture early issues,” the tweet-editing function will be rolled out to “some Twitter Blue subscribers” later in the month.
“The test will be localized to a single country at first and expand as we learn and observe how people use Edit Tweet,” the platform explained, insisting “you can never be too careful” with such a feature.
well well well, look what we’ve been testing… pic.twitter.com/a8fND4xqMM
— Twitter Blue (@TwitterBlue) September 1, 2022
Twitter Vice President of consumer product Jay Sullivan admitted earlier this year that users have been demanding an edit button louder than any other feature for years.
While other major social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube allow the editing of content after it’s posted, Twitter founder and ex-CEO Jack Dorsey was reportedly opposed to the idea, and the company remains concerned about “misuse.”
Twitter Blue subscribers pay $4.99 per month for ‘perks’, including the ability to recall tweets, organize favorite content into ‘Collections’, and use NFTs as profile images. The platform began offering the service last March and recently upped the subscription cost from $2.99.