Twitter announced it is finally testing out an edit button after years of users requesting the feature.
The social media giant said in a blog post Thursday that the ability to edit tweets is being tested out internally first and then will expand to Twitter Blue subscribers “in the coming weeks.” Twitter Blue subscribers pay monthly for access to certain premium features.
“Given that this is our most requested feature to date, we wanted to both update you on our progress and give you and a heads up that, even if you’re not in a test group, everyone will still be able to see if a Tweet has been edited,” Twitter said in the post.
The edit button will allow users to make changes to a tweet after it’s been published — often to fix typos or add tags. In this phase of testing, Twitter said a tweet can be edited a few times within 30 minutes after it has gone out.
Edited tweets will have an icon, timestamp and label to show readers that the original tweet has been changed. A tweet’s edit history will also be available for Twitter users to see.
Twitter said it’s starting off by testing its edit button with a smaller group to help “incorporate feedback while identifying and resolving potential issues,” as well as to identify ways people might “misuse” it. Twitter Blue subscribers will receive access later this month, according to Twitter.
The announcement comes as Twitter is embroiled in a legal showdown with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who filed paperwork on Tuesday to terminate his agreement to buy the social media company based on information in a whistleblower complaint filed by Twitter’s former head of security. Twitter responded by saying his attempt to back out of the deal is “invalid and wrongful.”
The complaint from Peiter Zatko, Twitter’s security chief until he was fired in January, claims that Twitter has “extreme, egregious deficiencies” in security, privacy and content moderation.