One of Twitter’s most requested features could soon be a reality.
WASHINGTON — The most requested Twitter feature since the site launched in 2006 may be coming soon to some users.
That’s right, an edit button is coming to Twitter, meaning permanently misspelled tweets might soon be a thing of the past.
Twitter announced Thursday it’s working on a new feature allowing users to edit their tweets, acknowledging that it’s been a highly requested feature.
The social media company said in a blog post that it’s testing the “Edit Tweet” feature internally with plans to roll it out later this month to subscribers of its premium Twitter Blue service.
The Twitter Blue subscription already gives users the ability to “unsend” a tweet for a short time after it’s been posted, allowing for quick mistakes to be caught and edited.
The edit function will give users up to 30 minutes to make changes such as fixing typos or adding hashtags after first publishing a tweet.
To make it clear that a tweet has been modified, they’ll be labeled and appear with an icon and timestamp. Users can look up past versions of the tweet by tapping the label.
Twitter mentioned in their blog post that the test would be rolled out in a single country at first while they work out the kinks, but did not specify what country would get the feature for its debut test.
The company said it’s testing the edit feature with a small group of users so it can identify and resolve potential issues.
“This includes how people might misuse the feature,” the company said in a blog post. “You can never be too careful.”
The time limit and version history play an important role, Twitter said. “They help protect the integrity of the conversation and create a publicly accessible record of what was said.”
The feature is currently only being tested internally by Twitter employees, the company said. Twitter Blue users will have access in the next few weeks. And once Twitter is satisfied with the edit button, it will be rolled out to all Twitter accounts, although no timeline is set for that expansion.