• by Ray Schultz , September 1, 2022

People who post on Facebook and Instagram can easily correct typos and even meaning by using the edit function.  

Twitter never had that feature, but now it does. “if you see an edited Tweet it's because we're testing the edit button this is happening and you'll be okay,” the social platform tweeted on Thursday. 

Whoever posted that did not go back in to edit punctuation. But there it is: Twitter will now allow members to improve their tweets and perhaps remove defamatory or over-the-top statements, and simple errors. 

Users will have 30 minutes to correct their tweets, and the history of the edits will be available to readers who click the label stating that the tweet was modified, the New York Times reports. 

Up to now, Twitter users have been able to delete messages, but not to edit them in this way. The function, “our most requested feature to date,” will be rolled out for Twitter Blue subscribers.  

“The test will be localized to a single country at first and expand as we learn and observe how people use Edit Tweet,” Twitter says in a blog post. “We’ll also be paying close attention to how the feature impacts the way people read, write, and engage with Tweets. 

“We’re hoping that with the availability of Edit Tweet, tweeting will feel more approachable and less stressful,” Twitter says. “You should be able to participate in the conversation in a way that makes sense to you.”

The tool could prove useful to editors and publishers who demand precision in all their messaging.