Twitter to Drop Handles and Media Attachments From 140-Character Limit - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Twitter to Drop Handles and Media Attachments From 140-Character Limit

by

twitterlogoTwitter announced today that it will be making a number of expected changes to simplify tweets over the coming months.

First and foremost, when replying to a tweet, Twitter handles such as @MacRumors will no longer count toward the 140-character limit. Media attachments, like photos, GIFs, videos, polls, and Quote Tweets, will also no longer be counted.

The changes should provide Twitter users, including brands and websites, with more characters for actual text and article headlines.

Meanwhile, new non-reply tweets that begin with a username will now reach all of a user's followers, eliminating the need to use the ".@" convention to broadcast a tweet widely. Last, Twitter users will be able to Retweet and Quote Tweet their own tweets.

Twitter expects the changes to have a significant impact on tweets, so the microblogging service aims to provide its developer partners with time to make any needed updates to products built using the Twitter API.

Tag: Twitter

Top Rated Comments

ipedro Avatar
130 months ago
The decision to drop the .@ convention is a bad decision. People have different groups of friends on Twitter. My Rugby frinds don't need to know what I'm saying to my friends from when I was at or vice versa. Neither of those groups will want to have the tweets I send to Photography friends suddenly forced into their timelines. This will clog up peoples' timelines with stuff they're not interested in. Plus, it will become even easier for online trolls and bullies to whip up a frenzy by broadcasting their abuse to all their followers automatically. Twitter need to re-think this part o their proposed changes.
It's only for new tweets. If I tweet @Gaspode67 should read more closely before commenting it'll reach all of my followers because it's simply a tweet that begins with a handle, not a reply. If I reply to a tweet with @Gaspode67 ok, meet you on the pitch then it will not show to all of my followers unless they follow both of us, as it worked before.

With these updates, Twitter is eliminating the need to be a twitter geek with knowledge of insider tricks in order to use the service. A lot of this twitter code turns people off. And even though I've been on Twitter from the beginning and know all of these tricks, I'll appreciate a cleaner timeline with less code and more content.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
petertretyakov Avatar
130 months ago
class Tweet < ActiveRecord::Base
validates :content, length: { maximum: 150 }
end

You're welcome ))
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
130 months ago
The decision to drop the .@ convention is a bad decision. People have different groups of friends on Twitter. My Rugby frinds don't need to know what I'm saying to my friends from when I was at or vice versa. Neither of those groups will want to have the tweets I send to Photography friends suddenly forced into their timelines. This will clog up peoples' timelines with stuff they're not interested in. Plus, it will become even easier for online trolls and bullies to whip up a frenzy by broadcasting their abuse to all their followers automatically. Twitter need to re-think this part o their proposed changes.
I was going to say that's not how it works, but you're right. The .@ convention was perfectly fine, a part of Twitter culture.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
130 months ago
Sooooo theoretically you could spam @ mention every single user on twitter in a single tweet. This sounds like a pretty horrible idea.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gaspode67 Avatar
130 months ago
The decision to drop the .@ convention is a bad decision. People have different groups of friends on Twitter. My Rugby frinds don't need to know what I'm saying to my friends from when I was at or vice versa. Neither of those groups will want to have the tweets I send to Photography friends suddenly forced into their timelines. This will clog up peoples' timelines with stuff they're not interested in. Plus, it will become even easier for online trolls and bullies to whip up a frenzy by broadcasting their abuse to all their followers automatically. Twitter need to re-think this part o their proposed changes.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cerote Avatar
130 months ago
Lol. This is considered breaking news on CNN.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

X twitter logo

XChat App Now Available

Friday April 24, 2026 1:46 pm PDT by
X today launched XChat, a standalone messaging app for the iPhone and iPad, available now on the App Store. XChat allows users to chat with anyone on X in a private, focused space separate from the main X app. At launch, the app supports direct messaging and group chats, audio and video calls, and file sharing. X claims all messages are end-to-end encrypted and PIN protected, with no ads or...
MacBook Pro Low Angle Wide Lens

Apple to Launch 'MacBook Ultra' With These Six New Features

Friday April 24, 2026 10:32 am PDT by
While the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro were just updated with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips last month, bigger changes are reportedly around the corner. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the higher-end MacBook Pro models will be receiving a major redesign by early 2027, and he said that Apple might use "MacBook Ultra" branding for them. If so, the MacBook Ultra would likely be a...
Apple TV Thumb 3

Here's What's Coming in the 2026 Apple TV

Thursday April 23, 2026 12:08 pm PDT by
There are a lot of folks waiting for a new version of the Apple TV because the set-top box hasn't been updated since 2022. There is an update coming this year, but people will need to wait a bit longer because Apple is holding the next Apple TV until the new version of Siri comes out this fall. Design Apple TV design updates don't happen often, and that's not changing in 2026. The next...