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Tweet Editing is Finally Here (At Least in Testing)

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Twitter has today launched the first stage of live testing for what’s arguably the most requested social media platform addition of all-time – the capacity to edit a tweet after posting.

As you can see in this example, edited tweets will include a note at the bottom that it has been edited, while all users will be able to access tweet edit history by tapping on the pencil icon.

This should alleviate some concerns around potential misuse of the option – though many people are already sounding the alarm on possible damages that could be caused by revised tweets.

So how will it work?

Initially, Twitter says that it’s launching a test of the feature with internal staff, before expanding the test pool to Twitter Blue subscribers ‘in the coming weeks’.

As explained by Twitter:

“For this test, Tweets will be able to be edited a few times in the 30 minutes following their publication. 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.”

So tweet editing won’t be available indefinitely, but for a limited time after posting, which aligns with an earlier tweet editing proposal that former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey flagged back in 2016.

After that, however, Dorsey and Co. poured cold water on the idea, several times, essentially saying that it would never happen.

But now it looks like it’s back on the table.

The full tweet editing details are as follows:

Tweets will be editable within the first 30 minutes following their publication. This is designed to limit the capacity for people to update viral tweets in retrospect, because you won’t know just how much reach a tweet will eventually get within the first half hour

Tweet edits will be publicly accessible via the tweet history, which will list all previous versions of the tweet, and detail on when the edits occurred

Users will be able to edit text, images and video in a tweet, as well as alt text info

While it will first be launched to Twitter Blue subscribers only, all users will eventually be able to access the option, free of charge

So, there it is – tweet editing, the long-awaited, much-requested, savior of tweet engagement, is now here. Or, at least, it’s coming, if you don’t want to pay $4.99 per month for Twitter Blue.