Twitter today announced that the 280 character limit for tweets that it introduced back in September is being rolled out to all Twitter users. The new 280 character limit, which doubles the existing 140-character limit, is available for all users and is being implemented for all languages where "cramming" was a problem.

twittercharacterexpansion

Tweet with traditional 140-character limit on left, new 280-character limit on right.

In September, we launched a test that expanded the 140 character limit so every person around the world could express themselves easily in a Tweet. Our goal was to make this possible while ensuring we keep the speed and brevity that makes Twitter, Twitter. Looking at all the data, we're excited to share we've achieved this goal and are rolling the change out to all languages where cramming was an issue.

Twitter said that it noticed people who were using Twitter in English would hit the character limit more often than tweets in languages like Chinese and Japanese, which is why the company ultimately decided to raise the character limit. The changes are rolling out to all languages except for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.

According to Twitter's analytics, most people with access to the 280 character limit continued to share tweets that featured under 140 characters, leaving the "brevity of Twitter" intact.

Only 5 percent of tweets sent out were longer than 140 characters, and only 2 percent were longer than 190 characters, so Twitter believes the new character limit should not "substantially change" timelines for most users.

280-character tweets have been limited to a small group of users since the end of September, but the feature is rolling out to everyone starting today. When the new limit is activated, the tweet interface on the web displays a circle that gradually fills up as you type rather than a numbered countdown.

The new Twitter character limit is already available to many users who did not previously have access. Twitter warns that there may be an uptick in novelty tweets and tweets using the full character limit as the feature rolls out, but the company expects this to die down over the course of the next week or two.

Tag: Twitter

Top Rated Comments

scrapesleon Avatar
83 months ago
Still can’t get an edit tweet button
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ErikGrim Avatar
83 months ago
Still can’t get an edit tweet button
The potential for abuse of this feature far outweighs the inconvenience of having to delete and retype a tweet. (Or copy, delete, paste, edit).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KazKam Avatar
83 months ago
280 characters is for the lazy. Personally, I enjoyed the challenge of distilling a thought to it's essence. A great exercise in efficiency, conciseness, and clarity. Really helps you weed out the verbal excrement (also, I wanted to type "verbal excrement"). I also preferred reading the shorter quips. Much more scannable and digestible IMO.

"I have already made this [tweet] too long, for which I must crave pardon, not having now time to make it shorter." -- Ben Franklin
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EdT Avatar
83 months ago
For certain accounts like press outlets, a larger limit makes sense. But overall this will just reduce readability as people will have more words with which to say exactly the same thing.
This thing that you are saying is simply not the true representation of how people will compose their own tweets when you remove the character limit that is currently 140 characters but will now be more characters, with the new limit being up to 280, which is twice as long as the Old limit which was 140 characters.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RowellE Avatar
83 months ago
Updated the app but it still shows a 140-character limit. Not sure I would need or use more than 140 much, but it's good to have. Also, I don't like that they're removing the character countdown.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JackieInCo Avatar
81 months ago
The Twitter app on my Mac is stuck at 140. Been waiting for an update and it never comes in the app store.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...
M3 iPad Feature 3

New iPads Likely to Begin Shipping in April

Monday March 18, 2024 9:52 am PDT by
Apple's new iPad Pro models with OLED displays will likely begin shipping to customers in April, according to information shared today by Ross Young, CEO of display industry research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also said the new iPad Pro models might not ship until "deeper" into April in his Power On newsletter on Sunday:I've repeatedly said that new...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...