Twitter is working on an edit button and early tests of the feature have appeared online, revealing how users might be made aware that a particular Tweet has been edited. If the change is undetectable, that may become problematic since a like or a retweet can take on new meaning if the original content is altered. Twitter seems to have found a solution to this issue based on some early test results that were revealed recently.
Despite ongoing requests being made for the ability to make changes to a Tweet after posting it, Twitter notoriously refused to add this feature for several years. Concerns were raised about altering the historical record and the potential for abuse by changing the meaning of a Tweet with an edit. Even seemingly reasonable changes could have an unwelcome effect on individuals and businesses that previously interacted with or referenced a Tweet. Meanwhile, other social media platforms such as Facebook have implemented the ability for users to make edits without any major issues resulting from the change.
Jane Manchun Wong often breaks news about upcoming Twitter features and, once again, has uncovered quite a few details about the upcoming edit button. In the current pre-release version, there are some glitches involving an edited Tweet of a video being re-uploaded as an image. Wong noted that uploading content that already exists on Twitter is a waste of bandwidth and processing power. Hopefully, both issues will be resolved before the edit button goes live. As for the disclosure that a Tweet has been edited, Wong posted a screenshot that reveals that a change will be noted at the bottom of the post, to the right of the time and date stamp. A pencil icon followed by the word ‘Edited’ signifies that a change has been made. Clicking on ‘Edited’ will apparently show the old Tweet, providing an edit history. The old version of the Tweet in the Twitter web app shows the same pencil icon followed by the phrase “There’s a new version of this Tweet.”
When Will The Edit Button Launch?
While everyone wants to know when the edit button will become available, this hasn’t been revealed. Given that there still seem to be some unwelcome side effects, the feature is unfinished and probably won’t arrive soon, at least not until a Tweet can be edited without altering video content. If the current implementation remains largely the same as what Wong has shown, it will be quite similar to Facebook’s solution to editing posts.
Any content in an edited Tweet can be removed or changed, even an image or video, however, the fact that an edit was made will be noted and a link will be provided to the original Tweet. While complaints will almost certainly arise no matter how the edit button works, this seems like a good solution that gives users what they have wanted without removing the original record. Naturally, Twitter hasn’t declared this as the edit button’s final form and the appearance and functionality could change significantly before it officially launches.
