Twitter To Roll Out Highly Anticipated Edit Button

Social media microblogging platform, Twitter has responded to persistent calls by users to have an option of editing their tweets to fix spelling mistakes (typos) as well as erroneous tweets.

The Edit feature will be rolled out to Twitter’s Blue service later this month. Twitter Blue is currently available in the United States (US), Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The feature is currently being tested by its team internally. The test will then be initially expanded to Twitter Blue subscribers in the coming weeks and users will be able to see if a tweet has been edited, even if they're not part of the test group.

Screenshot of Twitter's new edit feature undergoing testing. /TWITTER

“If you see an edited Tweet it's because we're testing the edit button this is happening and you'll be okay,” it stated. 

Edit Tweet is a feature that lets people make changes to their Tweet after it’s been published. It offers a short period of time to do things such as fix typos, and add missed tags, among others.

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, thus making it 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 in this case. They help protect the integrity of the conversation and create a publicly accessible record of what was said.

"Like any new feature, we’re intentionally testing Edit Tweet with a smaller group to help us incorporate feedback while identifying and resolving potential issues. This includes how people might misuse the feature.

"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," the social media platform added.

The test will be localized to a single country at first and expand as it learns and observes how people use Edit Tweet. It will also be paying close attention to how the feature impacts the way people read, write, and engage with Tweets.