Twitter announces it is developing an ‘edit’ button with testing starting within premium service Twitter Blue

The new feature will enable people to make changes to tweets without having to delete and lose interactions
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Twitter has confirmed that it has been working on an edit button with testing to begin in the coming months.

The company said it has been developing the feature since last year.

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The news comes following a tweet sent out by Elon Musk asking users if they wanted a feature that would allow them to edit tweets.

More than 4.4 million people responded to the poll - 73.6% voted for the function and 26.4% voted against it.

What would the edit feature allow users to do?

In a tweet posted from the social media giant’s communications account, the company said: "Now that everyone is asking… yes, we’ve been working on an edit feature since last year!"

"No, we didn’t get the idea from a poll we’re kicking off testing within @TwitterBlue Labs in the coming months to learn what works, what doesn’t, and what’s possible."

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At the moment, if any user wants to correct a tweet, they must delete it, losing any replies, retweets, or likes it has received, and re-post it.

The new feature will enable people to make the changes without any of the interaction data being lost.

On April Fool’s Day, the company’s communications account said it was working on an edit button - but many users believed it was a joke.

Where will the new feature be tested?

The new edit feature will be tested on Twitter Blue in the coming months.

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Twitter Blue is the platform’s premium monthly subscription service.

It operates in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Users pay to get access to premium features and app customisations.

What has Twitter said about the new feature?

The company’s head of consumer product, Jay Sullivan, said it has been the "most requested Twitter feature for many years".

"People want to be able to fix (sometimes embarrassing) mistakes, typos and hot takes in the moment," he added.

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However, concerns have been raised about how the edit function will work - with claims surfacing that the new feature could be "misused".

Mr Sullivan said: "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.

"Protecting the integrity of that public conversation is our top priority when we approach this work."

He added that Twitter will be "actively seeking input and adversarial thinking" before launching the feature.

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He tweeted: "We will approach this feature with care and thoughtfulness and we will share updates as we go.

"This is just one feature we are exploring as we work to give people more choice and control over their Twitter experience, foster a healthy conversation, and help people be more comfortable on Twitter."

What other news has been announced for the platform?

Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has bought a 9.2% stake in the company and joined its board of directors.

The news of Mr Musk’s appointment to the board of Twitter was shared by its chief executive Parag Agrawal on Tuesday (5 April).

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Mr Agrawal said Mr Musk would make the company “stronger in the long-term”.

He tweeted: “I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board!

“Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.”

Mr Agrawal added: “He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome Elon!”

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