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Twitter Doubles Tweet Limit To 280 Characters As Users Demand Edit Button

'We want an edit button!'
By 

Senior Editor, HuffPost UK

and

Audience Editor, HuffPost UK

LOADINGERROR LOADING

When Twitter announced in September it was ending its iconic 140-character limit, some people were less than impressed.

The roll out has been gradual but this week nearly everyone should have the new 280-character limit for their tweets.

However, many users are a bit overwhelmed by their new extended character limit.

people checking their TL after the #280characters update... pic.twitter.com/Cyfem0UoAL

— smart boy (@urbanskurge) November 7, 2017

This new #280characters is like eating your big main and then realising you still have time for desert and coffee pic.twitter.com/sYK06DxzVe

— James Phelps (@James_Phelps) November 8, 2017

Opening Twitter and seeing the hashtag #280characters trending pic.twitter.com/rs6gW8LPLQ

— Natasha Reda (@natreda) November 8, 2017

I now have 280 characters at my disposal, 140 too many. Twitter needs to be short & to the point. If I want to read more than two lines, I'll read a book.#280characters

— America Matters🇺🇸 (@tpcjk) November 8, 2017

Or seriously over-excited. (Cue the most annoying tweets EVER.)

Apparently all twitter users can now tweet with #280characters!

Let me test this real quick...

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Now

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Know

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Won’t

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Sing

With

Me

🙏

Yep, works! 😂

— TED (@Laughbook) November 8, 2017

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#280characters

— Julian (@JulianS209) November 8, 2017

Users tweeting in Chinese, Japanese and Korean will still have the original limit. That’s because writing in those languages uses fewer characters.

The company says 9 percent of tweets written in English hit the 140-character limit. People end up spending more time editing tweets or don’t send them out at all.

Although many are enjoying their new doubled word limit, some people think an edit button would be more useful.

Twitter decided to give #280characters to everyone, but we still can’t edit our tweets? pic.twitter.com/f99A3wYyLM

— 𝒯𝒾𝒻𝒻𝒶𝓃𝓎 🥀 (@Tiffy_Russell) November 7, 2017

Dear Twitter,

We need an edit button next.
We need an edit button next.
We need an edit button next.
We need an edit button next.
We need an edit button next.
We need an edit button next.
We need an edit button next.
We need an edit button next. #280characters

— daddy (@lifeofdaddy) November 8, 2017

#280characters is awesome!
So how about that EDIT BUTTON!
So how about that EDIT BUTTON!
So how about that EDIT BUTTON!
So how about that EDIT BUTTON!
So how about that EDIT BUTTON!
So how about that EDIT BUTTON!
So how about that EDIT BUTTON!
So how about that EDIT BUTTON!

— Jason ن 🇺🇸 (@jasonmn) November 8, 2017

So Twitter's going to give us #280characters now but we still can't edit them tweets huh pic.twitter.com/2jOx8LaHun

— Lance Mijares (@KING_PRUVN) November 7, 2017

when Twitter gives us #280characters but we still can’t edit our tweets.

LET US EDIT OUR TWEETS
LET US EDIT OUR TWEETS
LET US EDIT OUR TWEETS
LET US EDIT OUR TWEETS
LET US EDIT OUR TWEETS
LET US EDIT OUR TWEETS
LET US EDIT OUR TWEETS
LET US EDIT OUR TWEETS
LET US EDIT OUR TWEETS

— free the positivity (@freetherage) November 7, 2017

Twitter: What features do you want?
Users: An edit button.
Twitter: Here you go, #280characters
Users: But we wanted...
Twitter: pic.twitter.com/pkwyW7udSt

— (((Paul Green))) (@bigsexy_tote) November 7, 2017

Twitter hopes that the expanded limit will get more people tweeting more, helping its lackluster user growth.

Twitter has been testing the new limit for weeks and is starting to roll it out Tuesday.

We're expanding the character limit! We want it to be easier and faster for everyone to express themselves.

More characters. More expression. More of what's happening.https://t.co/wBpYdy1K40

— Twitter (@Twitter) November 7, 2017

Those who haven’t got the upgraded limit yet are feeling a bit left out.

Retweet if you're still stuck on this! #280characters pic.twitter.com/RO6vJ0JVqY

— D.C. #TeamRed (@DarrenConnolly_) November 7, 2017

When many of your friends have #280Characters and you’re still sitting at 140 like a peasant pic.twitter.com/4Wqm75EBDn

— Mark Harris (@Harris_Mark7) November 7, 2017

Everybody I follow be getting #280characters , meanwhile I'm here still stuck with 140 characters like... pic.twitter.com/LDNS7Be4a7

— Marios-Friend9 (@MariosFriend9) November 7, 2017

#280characters yep, not on my twitter. Still 140. pic.twitter.com/E5TcN3ojwj

— Marii ♡ (@MariiP20) November 7, 2017

Still at 140 characters like ... #280characters where are you?! pic.twitter.com/s6RtYBGj7J

— Fabian (@freelancelot_) November 7, 2017

The company has been slowly easing restrictions to let people cram more characters into a tweet.

It stopped counting polls, photos, videos and other things toward the limit. Even before it did so, users found creative ways to get around the limit. This includes multi-part tweets and screenshots of blocks of text.

Twitter’s character limit was created so that tweets could fit into a single text message, back when many people were using texts to receive tweets.

But now, most people use Twitter through its mobile app; the 140-character limit is no longer a technical constraint but nostalgia.

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