Big Twitter changes to how 140-character message limit is counted
Twitter has announced significant changes to how it will calculate the length of messages on its platform, which are restricted to 140 characters.
News of the pending changes first emerged in a report on Bloomberg.
“In the coming months we’ll make changes to simplify Tweets, including what counts toward your 140 characters,” said Twitter.
“For instance, @names in replies and media attachments (like photos, GIFs, videos, and polls) will no longer use up valuable characters.”
Twitter outlined the following changes which will be rolling out:
- Replies: When replying to a Tweet, @names will not count toward the character limit.
- Media attachments: Photos, GIFs, videos, polls, or Quote Tweets will not count as characters.
- Retweet and Quote Tweet yourself: The Retweet button will be enabled on your own Tweets.
- .@ no longer needed: This will simplify the rules around Tweets that start with a username. New Tweets that begin with a username will reach all your followers, which means you will no longer have to use the “.@” convention. If you want a reply to be seen by your followers, you will be able to Retweet it to signal that you intend for it to be viewed more broadly.
In addition to these changes, Twitter said it plans to “help you get even more” from your Tweets.
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