Last week, Twitter announced the introduction of an edit button, a feature that the user community has been asking for since the creation of the social network. edit tweet

“The reason there’s no edit button there hasn’t been an edit button traditionally is we started as an SMS text messaging service,” explained Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO in 2020. “So as you all know, when you send a text, you can’t really take it back. We wanted to preserve that vibe and that feeling in the early days.”

But one of Twitter’s most anticipated features is rolling out along with more details on how it will function. The app’s much-desired edit button is currently undergoing internal testing, according to a recent blog post from Twitter.

1/ We’ve been exploring how to build an Edit feature in a safe manner since last year and plan to begin testing it within @TwitterBlue Labs in the coming months. Sharing a few more insights on how we’re thinking about Edit ???? https://t.co/WbcfkUue8e

— Jay Sullivan (@jaysullivan) April 5, 2022

What is Edit Tweet?

So what is Edit Tweet, you ask? Great question. Edit Tweet is a feature that lets people make changes to their Tweet after it’s been published. Think of it as a short period of time to do things like fix typos, add missed tags, and more.

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.

For context, the time limit and version history play an important role here. They help protect the integrity of the conversation and create a publicly accessible record of what was said.

Who will be testing Edit Tweet?

Like any new feature, Twitter intentionally tested Edit Tweet with a smaller group to help incorporate feedback while identifying and resolving potential issues. This includes how people might misuse the feature.

Later this month, Twitter will expand Edit Tweet access to Twitter Blue subscribers in New Zealand. As part of their subscription, Twitter Blue subscribers receive early access to features and help us test them before they come to Twitter.

The test will be localized to a single country at first and expand as we learn and observe how people use Edit Tweet. Twitter will be paying close attention to how the feature impacts the way people read, write, and engage with Tweets. In the next phase, it will be pushed to Twitter Blue users in Australia, Canada, and the U.S.

Participating on Twitter in a way that makes sense to users

Twitter hopes that, with Edit Tweet’s availability, Tweeting will feel more approachable and less stressful. Users should be able to participate in the conversation in a way that makes sense to them, and Twitter will keep working on ways that make it feel effortless to do just that.

Over the past few months, the social network has come under intense scrutiny for how it has handled its security procedures, spam-account-catching techniques, and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) identification. That can explain Twitter’s caution with this so much-anticipated feature.