Twitter to allow users to tweet a little more than 140-characters
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Social media giant Twitter has announced that it is easing its 140-character limit on tweets, implementing a policy announced in May to no longer factor certain add-ons including pictures into a message’s length.
While the 140-character limit still applies to tweets, photos, videos, GIFs and polls will not count towards the limit.
“Say more about what’s happening! Rolling out now: photos, videos, GIFs, polls, and ‘Quote Tweets’ no longer count toward your 140 characters,” Twitter said in a post on Tuesday.
According to The Verge, the micro-blogging website is also testing out new replies that will omit usernames of the people you are replying to from the character limit.
Additionally, if you reply to multiple people at once, Twitter omits all of them from your tweet.
Earlier this year, Twitter planned to build a new feature that will allow users to tweet longer than its traditional 140-character limit.
The company considered a 10,000-character limit, which is the character limit the company uses for its Direct Messages product. Later, the company said there is still time for you to tweet in 10,000 characters and its original 140-character limit is here to stay.
Appearing on a TV show, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said that the 140-character limit is ‘a beautiful constraint’ and that Twitter ‘will never lose that feeling’.
The 140-character limit has been around since the platform launched back in 2006 and has become a part of its personality. However the move to ease the character limit comes as Twitter tries to increase its user base and engagement.
In the past, analysts have said that the platform needs to find new ways to boost its appeal beyond a core of celebrities, politicians and journalists, with its user base stagnant for the past year.
