Twitter says an edit button is in the works. Here’s how the rollout will begin
After years of pleading, begging and whining, it looks like many Twitter users could be getting their way.
The social media company announced it is finally working on an edit button.
“Now that everyone is asking,” the company wrote on the Twitter Communications’ account on April 5. “Yes, we’ve been working on an edit feature since last year!”
Twitter users have been clamoring for an edit button for years to change embarrassing mistakes, misspelled words or typos without having to fully delete their tweet.
The company assured users the change of heart was not because of the announcement that Elon Musk would now be on their board of directors.
“No, we didn’t get the idea from a poll,” the tweet continued, joking about Musk’s own Twitter poll from April 4 asking if users wanted an edit button (the answer was overwhelmingly yes).
Twitter itself seemingly pulled a prank on hopeful users on April Fools’ Day when the verified account tweeted, “We are working on an edit button.”
But now the company is revealing the tweet was not actually a joke.
“We weren’t joking,” the communications account tweeted.
It is likely the highly anticipated feature won’t be coming to timelines everywhere for a long time, if ever.
Twitter says it is testing the feature on its paid service, Twitter Blue, in the coming months “to learn what works, what doesn’t, and what’s possible.”
Jay Sullivan, Twitter’s Head of Consumer Product, added that the company was testing how to create the edit feature in a “safe manner,” and acknowledged an edit button could be misused if not created properly.
“Without things like time limits, controls, and transparency about what has been edited, Edit could be misused to alter the record of the public conversation,” he said in a tweet. “Protecting the integrity of that public conversation is our top priority when we approach this work.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 12:27 PM with the headline "Twitter says an edit button is in the works. Here’s how the rollout will begin."
