List of Twitter features#Timeline

X, commonly called under the former name Twitter, is an American microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like and retweet tweets, and read those that are publicly available.

Twitter structure

= Tweets =

Tweets, a term for short posts, are publicly visible by default, but senders can restrict message delivery to only their followers. Users can mute users they do not wish to interact with, block accounts from viewing their tweets and remove accounts from their followers list.{{cite news |title=Know Your Twitter Terms: 'Block' vs. 'Mute' |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/wiredinsider/2014/02/know-your-twitter-terms-block-vs-mute/ |access-date=July 20, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Gibbs |first=Samuel |date=May 13, 2014 |title=13 reasons to mute people on Twitter |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/13/twitter-mute-unfollow-block-reason-secret-abuse |access-date=July 21, 2020}}{{cite web |date=October 11, 2021 |title=Now every Twitter web user can 'soft block' annoying followers |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/11/22721218/twitter-soft-block-remove-follower-web |access-date=October 12, 2021 |work=The Verge}} Users can tweet via the Twitter website, compatible external applications (such as for smartphones), or by Short Message Service (SMS) available in certain countries.{{cite web |title=Using Twitter with Your Phone |url=http://help.twitter.com/entries/14226-how-to-find-your-twitter-short-long-code |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315200218/http://help.twitter.com/entries/14226-how-to-find-your-twitter-short-long-code |archive-date=March 15, 2010 |access-date=June 1, 2010 |publisher=Twitter Support |quote=We currently support 2-way (sending and receiving) Twitter SMS via short codes and one-way (sending only) via long codes.}}Wikipedia:SPS Users may subscribe to other users' tweets—this is known as "following" and subscribers are known as "followers"{{cite web |author=Stone, Biz |date=October 30, 2009 |title=There's a List for That |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2009/10/theres-list-for-that.html |access-date=February 1, 2010 |publisher=blog.twitter.com}}Wikipedia:SPS or "tweeps", a portmanteau of Twitter and peeps.{{cite news |author=Brown, Amanda |date=March 2, 2011 |title=The tricky business of business tweeting |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/0302/1224291133449.html |access-date=April 28, 2011 |archive-date=October 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023164837/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/0302/1224291133449.html }} Individual tweets can be forwarded by other users to their own feed, a process known as a "retweet", a term for reposting. In 2015, Twitter launched "quote tweet" (originally called "retweet with comment"),{{cite news |last=Porter |first=Jon |date=September 1, 2020 |title=Twitter quote tweets are now easier to find |work=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/1/21409925/twitter-quote-tweets-counter-retweet-with-comments-interface-ratiod |access-date=May 23, 2021}} a feature that allows users to add a comment to their retweet, nesting one tweet in the other.{{cite news |last=Shu |first=Catherine |date=April 7, 2015 |title=Twitter Officially Launches Its "Retweet With Comment" Feature |work=TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/04/06/retweetception/ |access-date=May 22, 2021}} Users can also "like" (formerly "favorite") individual tweets.{{cite news |title=Twitter officially kills off favorites and replaces them with likes |work=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/3/9661180/twitter-vine-favorite-fav-likes-hearts |access-date=November 4, 2015}}

{{anchor|Timeline}}The counters for "likes", "retweets", and replies appear next to the respective buttons in news feeds, called timelines,{{cite web | title=Twitter Basics: Getting Started & 10 Must-Know Definitions | website=Wishpond Blog | date=2013-02-28 | url=https://blog.wishpond.com/post/44251889754/twitter-basics-getting-started-10-must-know | access-date=2023-11-09}} such as on profile pages and search results. Counters for likes and retweets exist on a tweet's standalone page too. Since September 2020, quote tweets, formerly known as "retweet with comment", have an own counter on their tweet page. Until the legacy desktop front end that was discontinued in 2020, a row with miniature profile pictures of up to ten liking or retweeting users was displayed (earliest documented implementation in December 2011 overhaul), as well as a tweet reply counter next to the according button on a tweet's page.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Catharine |date=December 8, 2011 |title=9 Things You Need To Know About Twitter's Massive Redesign |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twitter-new-features_n_1137850 |access-date=August 16, 2021 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}{{cite web |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Diese Tweets wurden am häufigsten geteilt |url=https://www.capital.de/wirtschaft-politik/diese-tweets-wurden-am-haeufigsten-geteilt |website=Capital.de |language=de-DE}}

Twitter allows users to update their profile via their mobile phone either by text messaging or by apps released for certain smartphones and tablets.{{Cite web |title=Download the free Twitter app | Twitter |url=https://twitter.com/download |access-date=July 30, 2019 |website=twitter.com}}Wikipedia:SPS Twitter has been compared to a web-based Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client.{{cite web |last=Stutzman |first=Fred |date=April 11, 2007 |title=The 12-Minute Definitive Guide to Twitter |url=http://dev.aol.com/article/2007/04/definitive-guide-to-twitter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704074026/http://dev.aol.com/article/2007/04/definitive-guide-to-twitter |archive-date=July 4, 2008 |access-date=November 12, 2008 |publisher=AOL Developer Network}} In a 2009 Time magazine essay, technology author Steven Johnson described the basic mechanics of Twitter as "remarkably simple":

{{Blockquote|As a social network, Twitter revolves around the principle of followers. When you choose to follow another Twitter user, that user's tweets appear in reverse chronological order on your main Twitter page. If you follow 20 people, you'll see a mix of tweets scrolling down the page: breakfast-cereal updates, interesting new links, music recommendations, even musings on the future of education.{{Cite news|author=Johnson, Steven | title=How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live | date=June 5, 2009 | url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1902604,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100511100916/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1902604,00.html | archive-date=May 11, 2010 | magazine = Time | access-date = February 13, 2011 | author-link=Steven Berlin Johnson }}}}

According to research published in April 2014, around 44% of user accounts have never tweeted.{{cite news |author=Murphy, David |date=April 13, 2014 |title=44 Percent of Twitter Accounts Have Never Tweeted |work=PC Magazine |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2456489,00.asp}}

The first tweet was posted by Jack Dorsey (creator) at 12:50 pm PST on March 21, 2006, and read "just setting up my twttr".{{cite tweet |last=Dorsey |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Dorsey |user=jack |number=20 |date=March 21, 2006 |title=just setting up my twttr |language=en |access-date=February 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212063542/https://twitter.com/jack/status/20 |archive-date=February 12, 2023 |url-status=live}} In 2009, the first tweet was sent from space. US astronauts Nicola Stott and Jeff Williams took part in a live 'tweetup' from the International Space Station with around 35 members of the public at the NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.{{Cite book |last=Glenday |first=Craig |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00 |title=Guinness World Records 2011 |year=2010 |publisher=Guinness World Records |isbn=978-1-904994-57-2 |url-access=registration}}

In March 2021, Jack Dorsey listed his first tweet for sale. The highest bid for the tweet, $2.5 million, came from a Malaysian businessman, Sina Estavi. Along with the metadata of the original tweet, the buyer was to receive a certificate that was digitally signed and verified by Dorsey.{{cite web |title=Twitter founder's first tweet draws $2.5 million bid at auction |url=https://www.dw.com/en/twitter-founders-first-tweet-draws-25-million-bid-at-auction/a-56797125 |access-date=March 7, 2021 |website=Deutsche Welle}}

== Content ==

File:Content of Tweets.svg

San Antonio-based market-research firm Pear Analytics analyzed 2,000 tweets (originating from the United States and in English) over a two-week period in August 2009 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm (CST) and separated them into six categories.{{Cite book |url=http://www.pearanalytics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Twitter-Study-August-2009.pdf |title=Twitter Study Reveals Interesting Results About Usage |date=August 12, 2009 |publisher=Pear Analytics |editor-last=Kelly |editor-first=Ryan |place=San Antonio, Texas |contribution=Twitter Study – August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715062407/http://www.pearanalytics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Twitter-Study-August-2009.pdf |archive-date=July 15, 2011 }} Pointless babble made up 40%, with 38% being conversational. Pass-along value had 9%, self-promotion 6% with spam and news each making 4%.

Despite Jack Dorsey's own open contention that a message on Twitter is "a short burst of inconsequential information", social networking researcher Danah Boyd responded to the Pear Analytics survey by arguing that what the Pear researchers labeled "pointless babble" is better characterized as "social grooming" or "peripheral awareness" (which she justifies as persons "want[ing] to know what the people around them are thinking and doing and feeling, even when co-presence isn't viable").{{cite web |last=boyd |first=danah |author-link=danah boyd |date=August 16, 2009 |title=Twitter: "pointless babble" or peripheral awareness + social grooming? |url=http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2009/08/16/twitter_pointle.html |access-date=September 19, 2009}} Similarly, a survey of Twitter users found that a more specific social role of passing along messages that include a hyperlink is an expectation of reciprocal linking by followers.{{cite journal |author=Avery Holton |author2=Kang Baek |author3=Mark Coddington |author4=Carolyn Yaschur |year=2014 |title=Seeking and Sharing: Motivations for Linking on Twitter |journal=Communication Research Reports |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=33–40 |doi=10.1080/08824096.2013.843165 |s2cid=143390964}}

== Format ==

=== Hashtags, usernames, retweets and replies ===

Users can group posts together by topic or type by use of hashtags – words or phrases prefixed with a "#" sign. Similarly, the "@" sign followed by a username is used for mentioning or replying to other users.{{Cite news |last=Strachan |first=Donald |date=February 19, 2009 |title=Twitter: How To Set Up Your Account |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/4698589/Twitter-how-to-set-up-your-account.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/4698589/Twitter-how-to-set-up-your-account.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022}}{{cbignore}}

In 2014, in anticipation for the FIFA World Cup, Twitter introduced hashflags, special hashtags that automatically generate a custom emoji next to them for a certain period of time, following the success of a similar campaign during the 2010 World Cup.{{Cite web |last=Magdaleno |first=Alex |date=June 11, 2014 |title=Raise Your 'Hashflags': Twitter Reintroduces World Cup Hashtags |url=https://mashable.com/2014/06/10/world-cup-twitter-hashflags/ |access-date=May 16, 2021 |website=Mashable |language=en}} Hashflags may be generated by Twitter themselves (such as to raise awareness for social issues){{Cite web |date=March 18, 2021 |title=Twitter hashflags call out support for the Asian American community: Thursday Wake-Up Call |url=https://adage.com/article/media/twitter-hashflags-call-out-support-asian-american-community-thursday-wake-call/2322671 |access-date=May 16, 2021 |website=adage.com |language=en}} or be purchased by corporations (such as to promote products and events).{{Cite web |last1=Johnson|first1=Lauren |date=February 2, 2016 |title=Twitter's Branded Emojis Come With a Million-Dollar Commitment |url=https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/twitters-branded-emojis-come-million-dollar-commitment-169327/ |access-date=May 16, 2021 |language=en-US}}

To repost a message from another Twitter user and share it with one's own followers, a user can click the retweet button within the Tweet. Users can reply other accounts' replies. Since November 2019, users can hide replies to their messages. Since May 2020, users can select who can reply each of their tweets before sending them: anyone, accounts who follow the poster, specific accounts, and none. This ability was upgraded in July 2021 to make the feature retroactively applicable to tweets after they have been sent out.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=May 20, 2020 |title=Twitter is testing a way to let you limit replies to your tweets |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/20/21265090/twitter-testing-limited-replies-tweets-conversations |access-date=July 14, 2021 |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=July 13, 2021 |title=Twitter will let you change who can reply to a tweet after you post it |language=en-US |newspaper=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/13/22575998/twitter-tweet-change-who-can-reply-after-you-post |access-date=July 14, 2021}}

=== Twitter Lists ===

In late 2009, the "Twitter Lists" feature was added, making it possible for users to follow ad hoc lists of authors instead of individual authors.{{cite web |date=n.d. |title=Twitter Lists! |url=http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/entries/76460 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222223731/http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/entries/76460 |archive-date=December 22, 2009 |access-date=February 13, 2011 |publisher=Support forum at help.twitter.com}}Wikipedia:SPS

=== Using SMS ===

Through SMS, users can communicate with Twitter through five gateway numbers: short codes for the United States, Canada, India, New Zealand, and an Isle of Man-based number for international use. There is also a short code in the United Kingdom which is only accessible to those on the Vodafone, O2{{Cite news |last=Andrews |first=Robert |date=March 27, 2009 |title=Twitter Brings Back UK SMS; Vodafone First, Others To Follow |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/pda/2009/mar/27/twitter-socialnetworking1 |access-date=June 7, 2009}} and Orange{{cite web |date=November 16, 2009 |title=Blog.Twitter.com |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2009/11/another-first-in-uk.html |access-date=March 28, 2010 |publisher=Blog.Twitter.com}}Wikipedia:SPS networks. In India, since Twitter only supports tweets from Bharti Airtel,{{Cite news |author=Kutty, Darpana |date=October 15, 2009 |title=Twitter, Bharti Airtel Tie-Up To Activate Twitter SMS Service in India |work=topnews.in |url=http://www.topnews.in/twitter-bharti-airtel-tieup-activate-twitter-sms-service-india-2224961 |access-date=February 23, 2011}} an alternative platform called smsTweet{{cite web |title=SMStweet :: Send Twitter Message sing SMS in India |url=http://www.smstweet.in/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921034855/http://www.smstweet.in/ |archive-date=September 21, 2018 |access-date=April 3, 2010 |location=India}} was set up by a user to work on all networks.{{Cite news |author=Balanarayan, N.T. |date=December 17, 2009 |title=Tweeting Via SMS Is In, the Way It Should Be |work=Daily News and Analysis |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_tweeting-via-sms-is-in-the-way-it-should-be_1324562 |access-date=February 23, 2011}} A similar platform called GladlyCast exists for mobile phone users in Singapore and Malaysia.{{cite web |title=Update Twitter or Plurk by sending an SMS to a Singapore or Malaysia local number |url=http://gladlycast.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125082254/http://gladlycast.com/ |archive-date=January 25, 2013 |access-date=April 3, 2010 |location=Singapore}}

The tweets were set to a largely constrictive 140-character limit for compatibility with SMS messaging, introducing the shorthand notation and slang commonly used in SMS messages. The 140-character limit also increased the usage of URL shortening services such as bit.ly, goo.gl, tinyurl.com, tr.im, and other content-hosting services such as TwitPic, memozu.com and NotePub to accommodate multimedia content and text longer than 140 characters. Since June 2011, Twitter has used its own t.co domain for automatic shortening of all URLs posted on its site, making other link shorteners unnecessary for staying within Twitter's 140 character limit.{{cite web |title=About Twitter's Link Service |url=http://support.twitter.com/entries/109623 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225203154/http://support.twitter.com/entries/109623 |archive-date=February 25, 2011 |access-date=February 23, 2011 |publisher=Twitter Help Center (module of Twitter)}}{{cite web |author=Penner, Carolyn |date=June 7, 2011 |title=Link Sharing Made Simple |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2011/06/link-sharing-made-simple.html |access-date=June 9, 2011 |publisher=Twitter Blog (blog of Twitter)}}Wikipedia:SPS

In August 2019, Jack Dorsey's account was hacked by using Twitter's SMS to tweet feature to send crude messages. Days later, the ability to send a tweet via SMS was temporarily turned off.{{cite news |date=September 4, 2019 |title=Twitter disables tweeting via SMS after CEO gets hacked |publisher=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/4/20849865/twitter-disables-sms-text-message-tweeting-jack-dorsey-ceo-hack}}

In April 2020, Twitter discontinued the ability to receive SMS messages containing the text of new tweets in most countries.{{cite web |last=Binder |first=Matt |date=April 28, 2020 |title=Twitter quietly deletes millions of accounts from the old text message days |url=https://mashable.com/article/twitter-sms-changes-account-removals/?europe=true |access-date=January 6, 2021 |publisher=Mashable}}{{cite web |last=Kastrenakes |first=Jacob |date=April 27, 2020 |title=Twitter turns off its original SMS service in most countries |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/27/21238131/twitter-sms-notifications-disabled-jack-dorsey-hack |access-date=January 6, 2021 |publisher=The Verge}}

=== Character limits ===

In 2016, Twitter announced that media such as photos, videos, and the person's handle, would not count against the already constrictive 140 character limit. A user photo post used to count for a large chunk of a Tweet, about 24 characters.{{cite news |date=May 24, 2016 |title=Coming soon to Twitter: More room to tweet |agency=Associated Press |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/e80322b79d0d4765a2bcea2b473c9a34/coming-soon-twitter-more-room-tweetl |access-date=May 24, 2016 |archive-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206121455/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/e80322b79d0d4765a2bcea2b473c9a34/coming-soon-twitter-more-room-tweetl }} Attachments and links would also no longer be part of the character limit.{{cite web |last=Lever |first=Rob |date=May 24, 2016 |title=Twitter eases 140 character limit |url=https://www.yahoo.com/tech/twitter-eases-140-character-limit-tweets-145347778.html |access-date=May 25, 2016 |website=Yahoo Tech |archive-date=May 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509132316/https://www.yahoo.com/tech/twitter-eases-140-character-limit-tweets-145347778.html }}

On March 29, 2016, Twitter introduced the ability to add a caption of up to 480 characters to each image attached to a tweet.[https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/picture-descriptions Twitter Help center: Picture Descriptions - How to make images accessible for people]{{Cite web |title=Accessible images for everyone |url=https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/a/2016/accessible-images-for-everyone.html |website=blog.twitter.com}}Wikipedia:SPS This caption can be accessed by screen reading software or by hovering the mouse above a picture inside TweetDeck.

Since March 30, 2017, the Twitter handles are outside the tweet itself, therefore they no longer count towards the character limit.{{Cite web |last=Newton |first=Casey |date=March 30, 2017 |title=Twitter redesigns replies so usernames don't count against the 140-character limit |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15115290/twitter-replies-redesign-character-limit |website=The Verge}} Only new Twitter handles added to the conversation count towards the limit.

In 2017, Twitter doubled their historical 140-character-limitation to 280.{{cite web |title=Giving you more characters to express yourself |url=https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/topics/product/2017/Giving-you-more-characters-to-express-yourself.html |access-date=September 27, 2017}}Wikipedia:SPS Under the new limit, glyphs are counted as a variable number of characters, depending upon the script they are from: most European letters and punctuation forms count as one character, while each CJK glyph counts as two so that only 140 such glyphs can be used in a tweet.

=== URL shortener ===

t.co is a URL shortening service created by Twitter. It is only available for links posted to Twitter and not available for general use. All links posted to Twitter use a t.co wrapper.{{cite web |author=Garrett, Sean |date=June 8, 2010 |title=Links and Twitter: Length Shouldn't Matter |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2010/06/links-and-twitter-length-shouldnt.html |access-date=February 23, 2011 |publisher=Twitter Blog (blog of Twitter)}}Wikipedia:SPS Twitter created the service to try to protect users from malicious sites by warning users if a URL is potentially malicious before redirecting them, and uses the shortener to track clicks on links within tweets.{{cite web |author=Metz, Cade |date=September 2, 2010 |title=Twitter Tightens Grip on Own Firehose |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/02/twitter_ipad_app_and_url_shortener/ |access-date=February 23, 2011 |work=The Register}}

Having used the services of third parties TinyURL and bit.ly,{{cite web |author=Weisenthal, Joe |date=May 6, 2009 |title=Twitter Switches from TinyURL to Bit.ly |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-switches-from-tinyurl-to-bitly-2009-5 |access-date=February 23, 2011 |work=Business Insider}} Twitter began experimenting with its own URL shortening service for private messages in March 2010 using the twt.tl domain, before it purchased the t.co domain. The service was tested on the main site using the accounts @TwitterAPI, @rsarver and @raffi. On September 2, 2010, an email from Twitter to users said they would be expanding the roll-out of the service to users. On June 7, 2011, Twitter announced that it was rolling out the feature.

t.co faced controversy under the ownership of Musk, as Twitter began blocking new Tweets from containing links to other social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Mastodon.{{Cite news |date=2022-12-16 |title=Twitter blocks users from sharing Mastodon links |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63999452 |access-date=2024-11-05 |language=en-GB}} Tweets containing the networks could not be shared, and existing Tweets with links to the restricted sites would give an error upon attempting to visit the page via Twitter. The policy was soon reversed after extreme controversy.{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=2022-12-18 |title=Twitter abruptly bans all links to Instagram, Mastodon, and other competitors |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/18/23515221/twitter-bans-links-instagram-mastodon-competitors |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=The Verge |language=en}}

== Trending topics ==

A word, phrase, or topic that is mentioned at a greater rate than others is said to be a "trending topic". Trending topics become popular either through a concerted effort by users or because of an event that prompts people to talk about a specific topic.{{cite web |title=Bloggers back media against youth league |url=http://www.journalism.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3103&Itemid=37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718104406/http://www.journalism.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3103&Itemid=37 |archive-date=July 18, 2011 |access-date=April 3, 2010}} These topics help Twitter and their users to understand what is happening in the world and what people's opinions are about it.{{cite web |title=Top Twitter Trends of 2009 |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2009/12/top-twitter-trends-of-2009.html |access-date=April 3, 2010}}Wikipedia:SPS Websites that track and display trending topics, like [https://twittertrend.co TwitterTrend.co], provide real-time information on the most discussed topics worldwide, offering users insights into regional and global trends.{{Cite web |title=TwitterTrend.co – A resource for tracking and displaying current Twitter trends globally, with the option to view trends by region or country |url=https://twittertrend.co |access-date=5 May 2024 |website=TwitterTrend.co |language=en}}

Trending topics are sometimes the result of concerted efforts and manipulations by fans of certain celebrities or cultural phenomena, particularly musicians like Lady Gaga (known as Little Monsters), Justin Bieber (Beliebers), Rihanna (Rih Navy) and One Direction (Directioners), and novel series Twilight (Twihards) and Harry Potter (Potterheads). Twitter has altered the trend algorithm in the past to prevent manipulation of this type with limited success.{{cite web |last=Woollaston |first=Vicky |title=Justin Bieber fans beat Twitter 'block' | Web User magazine |url=http://www.webuser.co.uk/news/top-stories/492646/justin-bieber-fans-beat-twitter-block |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122152133/http://www.webuser.co.uk/news/top-stories/492646/justin-bieber-fans-beat-twitter-block |archive-date=November 22, 2012 |access-date=January 20, 2012 |publisher=Webuser.co.uk}}

The Twitter web interface displays a list of trending topics on a sidebar on the home page, along with sponsored content (see image).

Twitter often censors trending hashtags that are claimed to be abusive or offensive. Twitter censored the #Thatsafrican{{cite news |last=Weiner |first=David |date=June 21, 2009 |title=#Thatsafrican – When Twitter Went Racist? |work=Huffington Post |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/david-weiner/thatsafrican----when-twit_b_218673.html |access-date=April 3, 2010}} and #thingsdarkiessay hashtags after users complained that they found the hashtags offensive.{{cite web |date=November 5, 2009 |title=Thingsdarkiessay causes a Twitter storm |url=http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/technology/news/thingsdarkiessay-causes-a-twitter-storm-1.909053 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130094002/http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/technology/news/thingsdarkiessay-causes-a-twitter-storm-1.909053 |archive-date=January 30, 2016 |access-date=January 11, 2012 |publisher=Independent Online |location=South Africa}} There are allegations that Twitter removed #NaMOinHyd from the trending list and added an Indian National Congress-sponsored hashtag.{{cite news |last=Gupta |first=Kanchan |date=August 13, 2013 |title=Role of Twitter in trending wars |work=NITI Central |url=http://www.niticentral.com/2013/08/13/role-of-twitter-in-trending-wars-118256.html |access-date=August 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816010049/http://www.niticentral.com/2013/08/13/role-of-twitter-in-trending-wars-118256.html |archive-date=August 16, 2013 |df=mdy-all}} President Donald Trump protested trends calling them "unfair, disgusting, illegal, ridiculous" claiming the ones that are bad about him are blown up.{{Cite web |last=Moye |first=David |date=July 27, 2020 |title=Trump Claims Twitter's Trending Topics Are Illegal, And 'Very Unfair' |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-twitter-trending-topics-illegal_n_5f1f5b28c5b6945e6e3e8f9c |access-date=May 29, 2021 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=July 28, 2020 |title=Why did Trump call Twitter's trending topics 'illegal'? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/trump-trumpvirus-twitter-topics-coronavirus-covid-a9641566.html |access-date=May 29, 2021 |website=The Independent |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Sonnemaker |first=Tyler |title=President Trump suggested that Twitter's trending topics are 'illegal' because they make him look bad |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-twitter-trending-topics-are-illegal-and-unfair-2020-7 |access-date=May 29, 2021 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}

Examples of high-impact topics include the wildfires in San Diego,{{Cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Zheye|last2=Ye|first2=Xinyue|last3=Tsou|first3=Ming-Hsiang|date=2016-08-01|title=Spatial, temporal, and content analysis of Twitter for wildfire hazards|journal=Natural Hazards|language=en|volume=83|issue=1|pages=523–540|doi=10.1007/s11069-016-2329-6|bibcode=2016NatHa..83..523W |s2cid=130442050 |issn=1573-0840}} the earthquake in Japan,{{Cite book|last1=Sakaki|first1=Takeshi|last2=Okazaki|first2=Makoto|last3=Matsuo|first3=Yutaka|title=Proceedings of the 19th international conference on World wide web |chapter=Earthquake shakes Twitter users |date=2010|series=WWW '10|location=New York, NY, US|publisher=ACM|pages=851–860|doi=10.1145/1772690.1772777|isbn=9781605587998|s2cid=15953846 }} popular sporting events,{{Cite book|last1=Nichols|first1=Jeffrey|last2=Mahmud|first2=Jalal|last3=Drews|first3=Clemens|title=Proceedings of the 2012 ACM international conference on Intelligent User Interfaces |chapter=Summarizing sporting events using twitter |date=2012|series=IUI '12|location=New York, NY, US|publisher=ACM|pages=189–198|doi=10.1145/2166966.2166999|isbn=9781450310482|s2cid=15696890 }} and political uprisings in Iran{{Cite web|last1=Burns|first1=Alex|last2=Eltham|first2=Ben|date=2009-11-24|title=Twitter Free Iran: an Evaluation of Twitter's Role in Public Diplomacy and Information Operations in Iran's 2009 Election Crisis|url=http://networkinsight.org/verve/_resources/Burns_Eltham_file.pdf|language=en|location=University of Technology, Sydney|pages=322–334}} and Egypt.{{Cite journal|last1=Choudhary|first1=Alok|last2=Hendrix|first2=William|last3=Lee|first3=Kathy|last4=Palsetia|first4=Diana|last5=Liao|first5=Wei-Keng|date=2012-05-01|title=Social media evolution of the Egyptian revolution|journal=Communications of the ACM|language=en|volume=55|issue=5|pages=74|doi=10.1145/2160718.2160736|s2cid=41959904 }}

In 2019, 20% of the global trends were found to be fake, created automatically using fake and compromised accounts originating from Turkey. It is reported that 108,000 accounts were employed since 2015 to push 19,000 keywords such as advertisements and political campaigns, to top trends in Turkey by bulk tweeting.{{cite journal |last1=Elmas |first1=Tuğrulcan |last2 = Overdorf|first2 = Rebekah|last3=Özkalay|first3=Ahmed Furkan|last4=Aberer|first4=Karl |date=2021 |title=Ephemeral Astroturfing Attacks: The Case of Fake Twitter Trends |journal= 6th IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy |location= Virtual| publisher = IEEE |arxiv=1910.07783 }}

== Moments ==

In October 2015, Twitter introduced "Moments"—a feature that allows users to curate tweets from other users into a larger collection. Twitter initially intended the feature to be used by its in-house editorial team and other partners; they populated a dedicated tab in Twitter's apps, chronicling news headlines, sporting events, and other content.{{Cite news |last=Pierce |first=David |date=October 6, 2015 |title=Meet Moments, Twitter's Most Important New Feature Ever |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/10/meet-moments-twitters-new-feature/ |access-date=July 17, 2019 |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite web |last=Newton |first=Casey |date=October 6, 2015 |title=Twitter launches Moments, its dead-simple tab for browsing the best tweets |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/6/9457267/twitter-moments-project-lightning |access-date=July 17, 2019 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}} In September 2016, creation of moments became available to all Twitter users.{{Cite web |last=Kastrenakes |first=Jacob |date=September 28, 2016 |title=Twitter opens its Moments feature up to everyone |url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/9/28/13097924/twitter-moments-creation-opens-to-all |access-date=July 17, 2019 |website=The Verge}} On December 7, 2022, Twitter announced that it would be removing the ability to create new moments to focus on other experiences.{{cite tweet |author=((Twitter Support)) |user=TwitterSupport |number=1600567232764985348 |date=December 7, 2022 |title=Not all moments last. As of today we're removing the option to create Moments for most users as we focus on improving other experiences. Don't worry, you can still see past Moments and follow Live events on Twitter. |language=en |access-date=February 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210095832/https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1600567232764985348 |archive-date=February 10, 2023 |url-status=live}}

= Adding and following content =

There are numerous tools for adding content, monitoring content and conversations including Twitter's own TweetDeck, Salesforce.com, HootSuite, and Twitterfeed.com. {{As of|2009}}, fewer than half of tweets posted were posted using the web user interface with most users using third-party applications (based on an analysis of 500 million tweets by Sysomos).{{cite web |date=November 2009 |title=Inside Twitter Clients – An Analysis of 500 Million Tweets |url=http://www.sysomos.com/insidetwitter/clients |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901070608/http://sysomos.com/insidetwitter/clients |archive-date=September 1, 2010 |access-date=August 23, 2010 |publisher=Sysomos |df=mdy-all}}

= Verified accounts =

In June 2009, after being criticized by Kanye West and sued by Tony La Russa over unauthorized accounts run by impersonators, the company launched their "Verified Accounts" program.{{cite web |last=Stone |first=Biz |date=June 6, 2009 |title=Not Playing Ball |url=https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/a/2009/not-playing-ball.html |website=Twitter}}Wikipedia:SPS{{cite news |last=Kanalley |first=Craig |date=March 12, 2013 |title=Why Twitter Verifies Users: The History Behind the Blue Checkmark |work=Huffington Post |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/craig-kanalley/twitter-verified-accounts_b_2863282.html |access-date=June 9, 2014}} Twitter stated that an account with a "blue tick" verification badge indicates "we've been in contact with the person or entity the account is representing and verified that it is approved".{{cite web |last=Cashmore |first=Pete |date=June 11, 2009 |title=Twitter Launches Verified Accounts |url=http://mashable.com/2009/06/11/twitter-verified-accounts-2/ |access-date=June 9, 2014 |website=Mashable}} In July 2016, Twitter announced a public application process to grant verified status to an account "if it is determined to be of public interest" and that verification "does not imply an endorsement".{{cite web |title=About verified accounts |url=https://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics/topics/111-features/articles/119135-about-verified-accounts |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720094013/https://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics/topics/111-features/articles/119135-about-verified-accounts |archive-date=July 20, 2016}}Wikipedia:SPS{{cite web |date=July 19, 2016 |title=Announcing an Application Process for Verified Accounts |url=https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/a/2016/announcing-an-application-process-for-verified-accounts-0.html |website=Twitter}}Wikipedia:SPS{{cite magazine |last=Burgess |first=Matt |date=July 20, 2016 |title=Twitter opens verification to all |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/how-to-get-verified-twitter-uk-account-blue-tick |magazine=Wired |access-date=September 16, 2016}} Verified status allows access to some features unavailable to other users, such as only seeing mentions from other verified accounts.{{cite web |last=Wagner |first=Kurt |date=September 12, 2013 |title=Twitter Unveils Exclusive Feature For Verified Users |url=http://mashable.com/2013/09/12/twitter-exclusive-feature// |access-date=June 9, 2014 |website=Mashable}}

In November 2020, Twitter announced a relaunch of its verification system in 2021. According to the new policy, Twitter verifies six different types of accounts; for three of them (companies, brands, and influential individuals like activists), the existence of a Wikipedia page will be one criterion for showing that the account has "Off Twitter Notability".{{cite web |last=Harrison |first=Stephen |date=December 4, 2020 |title=Twitter Wants to Use Wikipedia to Help Determine Who Gets a Blue Checkmark |url=https://slate.com/technology/2020/12/twitter-checkmark-verification-wikipedia-notability.html |access-date=December 4, 2020 |website=Slate Magazine}} Twitter states that it will re-open public verification applications at some point in "early 2021".{{cite news |last=Statt |first=Nick |date=December 17, 2020 |title=Twitter is launching its new verification policy on January 20th |website=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/17/22187477/twitter-verification-badge-blue-checkmark-relaunch-process-new-rules |access-date=February 19, 2021}}

= Mobile =

Twitter has mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows 10, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Nokia S40.{{cite web |title=Twitter apps for phones, tablets and computers. |url=https://about.twitter.com/products/list |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402195657/https://about.twitter.com/products/list |archive-date=April 2, 2017 |access-date=April 6, 2017 |publisher=Twitter}}Wikipedia:SPS Users can also tweet by sending SMS.{{cite web |title=Tweeting via text message |url=https://support.twitter.com/articles/14226 |access-date=April 6, 2017 |website=Twitter Help Center |publisher=Twitter}}Wikipedia:SPS In April 2017, Twitter introduced Twitter Lite, a progressive web app designed for regions with unreliable and slow Internet connections, with a size of less than one megabyte, designed for devices with limited storage capacity.{{cite web |last=Byford |first=Sam |date=April 6, 2017 |title=Twitter Lite is a faster, leaner mobile web version of Twitter |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/6/15203736/twitter-lite-mobile-web-data-saver |access-date=April 6, 2017 |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media}}{{cite web |last=Russell |first=Jon |date=April 6, 2016 |title=Twitter launches a 'lite' mobile web app that's optimized for emerging markets |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/05/twitter-finally-launches-a-lite-app/ |access-date=April 6, 2017 |website=TechCrunch |publisher=AOL}}

This has been released in countries with slow internet connection such as the Philippines.{{cite web |date=June 14, 2017 |title=Twitter officially unveils lite version for PH users |url=http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/14/17/twitter-officially-unveils-lite-version-for-ph-users |access-date=June 16, 2017}}

Twitter Lite has evolved into the main Twitter web interface, see section "interface".{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

= Third-party applications =

For many years, Twitter has limited the use of third-party applications accessing the service by implementing a 100,000 user limit per application.{{cite web |last=Wauters |first=Robin |date=August 17, 2012 |title=Twitter API Changes Set Maximum User Cap for 3rd Parties |url=https://thenextweb.com/twitter/2012/08/17/twitter-4 |access-date=May 9, 2013 |publisher=Thenextweb.com}} Since August 2010, third-party Twitter applications have been required to use OAuth, an authentication method that does not require users to enter their password into the authenticating application. This was done to increase security and improve the user experience.{{cite web |date=August 30, 2010 |title=Twitter Applications and OAuth |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2010/08/twitter-applications-and-oauth.html |access-date=September 13, 2010 |publisher=Twitter}}Wikipedia:SPS As of 2023, third-party applications are prohibited under the Twitter API terms of service, with prohibit the use of the API to "create or attempt to create a substitute or similar service or product to the Twitter Applications".{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Mitchell |date=2023-01-22 |title=The third-party apps Twitter just killed made the site what it is today |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/22/23564460/twitter-third-party-apps-history-contributions |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Mitchell |date=2023-01-19 |title=Twitter officially bans third-party clients with new developer rules |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/19/23562947/twitter-third-party-client-tweetbot-twitterific-ban-rules |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}

= Related headlines feature =

This feature adds websites to the bottom of a tweet's permalink page. If a website embedded a tweet onto one of their stories, the tweet will show the websites that mentioned the tweet. This feature was added onto Twitter so if the viewer does not understand what the tweet means, they can click on the sites to read more about what the person is talking about.{{cite news |last=Mlot |first=Stephanie |title=Twitter Adds 'Related Headlines' to Embedded Tweets |work=PC Magazine |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2423301,00.asp |access-date=June 9, 2014}}

= Polls =

In 2015, Twitter began to roll out the ability to attach poll questions to tweets. Polls are open for up to 7 days, and voters are not personally identified.{{cite magazine |date=October 21, 2015 |title=Your Twitter Feed Is About to Be Flooded With Polls |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/10/twitter-polls/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=October 23, 2015}}

Initially, polls could have only two options with a maximum of twenty characters per option. Later{{When|date=August 2019}}, the ability to add four options with up to 25 characters per option, was added.

= Streaming video =

In 2016, Twitter began to place a larger focus on live streaming video programming, hosting various events including streams of the Republican and Democratic conventions during the U.S. presidential campaign as part of a partnership with CBS News,{{cite web |title=Twitter and CBS News to partner for live stream of Republican and Democratic National Conventions |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twitter-cbs-news-partnership-cbsn-live-stream-republican-democratic-national-conventions/ |access-date=July 11, 2016 |work=CBS News|date=11 July 2016 }} Dreamhack and ESL esports events,{{cite web |date=April 26, 2017 |title=Twitter plans to broadcast live video 24 hours a day |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/26/15430838/twitter-live-video-broadcast-24-hours |access-date=May 12, 2017 |website=The Verge}} and winning a bid for non-exclusive streaming rights to ten NFL Thursday Night Football games in the 2016 season.{{cite web |last1=Brodkin |first1=Jon |date=April 5, 2016 |title=Twitter buys NFL streaming rights for 10 Thursday Night Football games |url=https://arstechnica.com/business/2016/04/twitter-buys-nfl-streaming-rights-for-10-thursday-night-football-games/ |access-date=April 5, 2016 |website=Ars Technica}}

During an event in New York in May 2017, Twitter announced that it planned to construct a 24-hour streaming video channel hosted within the service, featuring content from various partners.{{cite web |date=May 2, 2017 |title=Twitter still thinks it's a TV platform — and here are its dozen new shows |url=https://www.recode.net/2017/5/1/15509026/twitter-live-video-tv-shows |access-date=May 12, 2017 |website=Re/code |publisher=Vox Media}} CEO Jack Dorsey stated that the digital video strategy was part of a goal for Twitter to be "the first place that anyone hears of anything going on that matters to them"; as of the first quarter of 2017, Twitter had over 200 content partners, who streamed over 800 hours of video over 450 events.{{cite web |date=May 2017 |title=Twitter Pushes Live-Video Deals With MLB, NFL, Viacom, BuzzFeed, Live Nation, WNBA and More |url=https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/twitter-pushes-live-video-deals-with-mlb-buzzfeed-live-nation-wnba-and-others-1202405236/ |access-date=May 12, 2017 |website=Variety}}

Twitter announced a number of new and expanded partnerships for its streaming video services at the event, including Bloomberg, BuzzFeed, Cheddar (Opening Bell and Closing Bell shows; the latter was introduced in October 2016) IMG Fashion (coverage of fashion events), Live Nation Entertainment (streaming concert events), Major League Baseball (weekly online game stream, plus a weekly program with live look-ins and coverage of trending stories), MTV and BET (red carpet coverage for their MTV Video Music Awards, MTV Movie & TV Awards, and BET Awards), NFL Network (the Monday-Thursday news program NFL Blitz Live, and Sunday Fantasy Gameday),{{Cite news |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=August 29, 2017 |title=NFL Sets Kickoff of Twitter Live Show for 2017-18 Season |language=en-US |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/nfl-twitter-live-streaming-show-nflblitz-1202541482/ |access-date=August 30, 2017}}{{cite web |date=May 11, 2017 |title=Twitter signed a new live video deal with the NFL that doesn't include games |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/11/15624988/twitter-nfl-live-video-deal-broadcast |access-date=May 12, 2017 |website=The Verge}} the PGA Tour (PGA Tour Live coverage of early tournament rounds preceding television coverage),{{cite web |date=January 5, 2017 |title=PGA Tour, Twitter Ink Live-Streaming Deal for Coverage of Thursday, Friday Rounds |url=http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/pga-tour-twitter-ink-live-streaming-deal-early-round-coverage |access-date=May 12, 2017 |website=Golf.com}} The Players' Tribune, Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens' Propagate (daily entertainment show #WhatsHappening), The Verge (weekly technology show Circuit Breaker: The Verge's Gadget Show), Stadium (a new digital sports network being formed by Silver Chalice and Sinclair Broadcast Group){{cite web |date=April 14, 2017 |title=Sinclair Partners to Revamp, Relaunch Sports Network |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/sinclair-partners-revamp-relaunch-sports-network/164905 |access-date=April 15, 2017 |website=Broadcasting and Cable}}{{cite web |date=April 13, 2017 |title=American Sports Network, Campus Insiders, and 120 Sports Announce Mega-Merger Deal |url=http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2017/4/13/15295142/american-sports-network-campus-insiders-120-sports-announce-mega-merger-deal-tv-online-streaming-g5 |access-date=April 15, 2017 |website=Underdog Dynasty (SBNation) |publisher=Vox Media}}{{cite web |title=Is Twitter the new home for Southern Miss football? |url=http://www.sunherald.com/sports/college/conference-usa/university-of-southern-mississippi/article148154494.html |access-date=May 12, 2017 |website=Sun Herald}} and the WNBA (weekly game).

= Account archival =

Twitter has offered {{clarify span|two different methods|date=October 2019}} of archiving one's own Twitter account data. Those methods have their individual benefits and disadvantages. As of September 2019, only the latter archival method is available.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

== Browsable legacy Twitter archive format ==

In December 2012, Twitter introduced a "Tweet archival" feature, which created a ZIP file that contains an offline-browsable archive of all tweets.{{Cite web |title=Your Twitter archive |url=https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/a/2012/your-twitter-archive.html |website=blog.twitter.com}}Wikipedia:SPS Those exported tweets could be browsed and searched offline by using the bundled user-interface accessible through a web browser, which used client-side, JavaScript-powered pagination.{{Cite web |date=December 19, 2012 |title=How To Search All Your Tweets Via Twitter |url=https://searchengineland.com/finally-you-can-search-all-your-tweets-via-twitter-142985 |website=Search Engine Land}} The user interface of the tweet archive browser had a design similar to Twitter's 2010–2014 desktop user interface, even until the feature's removal. The tweet text contents, ID's, time data and source labels are located in the file called "tweets.csv". It was possible to request at least one archive per day{{verify source|date=September 2019}}. The ability to export this type of tweet archive, which never existed on the new layout, has been removed entirely in August 2019^{[when exactly?]}, after co-existing with the new 2018 data archival method. Even when accessing the legacy Twitter desktop website layout using the user-agent of an older browser version, the option has disappeared from the account settings.

= Spaces =

Twitter Spaces is a social audio feature that enables users to host or participate in a live-audio virtual environment called space for conversation. Spaces can accommodate an unlimited number of listeners. A maximum of 13 people (1 host, 2 co-hosts and 10 speakers) are allowed onstage. The feature was initially limited to users with at least 600 followers. Since October 21, 2021, any Twitter user can create a Space from the Android or iOS app.{{cite web |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=October 21, 2021 |title=Twitter is finally letting everyone create Spaces |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/21/22739249/twitter-finally-letting-everyone-create-spaces |access-date=October 22, 2021 |work=The Verge}}

= Fleets =

In March 2020, Twitter began to test a stories feature known as "fleets" in some markets,{{Cite web |title=Twitter starts testing its own version of Stories, called 'Fleets,' which disappear after 24 hours |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/04/twitter-starts-testing-its-own-version-of-stories-called-fleets-which-disappear-after-24-hours/ |access-date=September 27, 2020 |website=TechCrunch |date=4 March 2020 |language=en-US |archive-date=March 5, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20200305072748/https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/04/twitter%2Dstarts%2Dtesting%2Dits%2Down%2Dversion%2Dof%2Dstories%2Dcalled%2Dfleets%2Dwhich%2Ddisappear%2Dafter%2D24%2Dhours/ }}{{Cite web |date=June 10, 2020 |title=Twitter brings Fleets to India, for 'those uncomfortable with public tweets' |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/social/twitter-fleets-launched-india-6448715/ |access-date=September 27, 2020 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}} which officially launched on November 17, 2020.{{cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |date=November 17, 2020 |title=Twitter Launches Disappearing 'Fleets' Globally After Tests In Select Markets |url=https://deadline.com/2020/11/twitter-launches-disappearing-fleets-globally-after-tests-instagram-snapchat-stories-1234617013/ |access-date=January 6, 2021 |publisher=Deadline}}{{Cite web |last=Newton |first=Casey |date=November 18, 2020 |title=What Twitter Fleets signals about the future of the company |url=https://www.theverge.com/21573380/twitter-fleets-launch-stories-spaces-future |access-date=November 18, 2020 |website=The Verge |language=en}} Similarly to equivalent features, fleets can contain text and media, are only accessible for 24 hours after they are posted, and are accessed within the Twitter app via an area above the timeline.

In June 2021, Twitter announced it would start implementing advertising into fleets, integrating full-screen ads among user-created content.{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=Kim |date=June 1, 2021 |title=Twitter's Fleets are getting Stories-like ads |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/1/22461070/twitter-fleets-stories-ads-monetize-instagram-snap |access-date=June 6, 2021 |work=The Verge |language=en}} On July 14, 2021, Twitter stated that it would remove Fleets by August 3. Twitter had intended for fleets to encourage more users to tweet regularly, rather than simply consume other folks' tweets, but instead fleets were generally used by users who already tweeted a lot. The company stated that their spot at the top of the screen would now be occupied by currently active Spaces from the user's feed.{{Cite web |last=Heath |first=Alex |date=July 14, 2021 |title=Twitter is shutting down Fleets, its expiring tweets feature |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/14/22577166/twitter-fleets-shuts-down-stories-clone |access-date=July 14, 2021 |work=The Verge |language=en}}

= Twitter Blue =

On June 3, 2021, Twitter announced a service known as Twitter Blue, which provides features exclusive to those who are subscribers to the Twitter Blue service. They include:

Undo Tweet, which allows users to withdraw a tweet within a short time frame before it is posted.{{Cite web |title=Twitter launches its premium subscription, Twitter Blue, initially in Canada and Australia |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/03/twitter-launches-its-premium-subscription-twitter-blue-initially-in-canada-and-australia/ |access-date=July 14, 2021 |website=TechCrunch |date=3 June 2021 |language=en-US |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803145616/https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/03/twitter-launches-its-premium-subscription-twitter-blue-initially-in-canada-and-australia/ }}
Bookmarks, which allows users to save individual tweets into folders.
Reader mode, which converts threads of tweets into an article-like view.
Color themes for the Twitter mobile app.
Dedicated customer support.

The service was initially released in Australia and Canada. On November 9, 2021, Twitter Blue was launched for US customers.{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/9/22766286/twitter-blue-subscription-service-scroll-nuzzel-undo-tweets-ad-free-articles-us|title=Twitter Blue is now available in the US|website=The Verge|date=9 November 2021 |access-date=March 18, 2022}}

=Twitter Zero=

Twitter Zero is an initiative undertaken by Twitter in collaboration with mobile phone-based Internet providers, whereby the providers waive data (bandwidth) charges—so-called "zero-rate"—for accessing Twitter on phones when using a stripped-down text-only version of the website. The images could be loaded by using the Twitter app.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/29/twitters-emerging-market-strategy-includes-its-own-version-of-a-facebook-zero-like-service-called-twitter-access/|title=Twitter ZERO Around the world after Ncell|date=29 May 2014 }} The stripped-down version is available only through providers who have entered the agreement with Twitter. Partners include:

{{flag|Nepal}} with Ncell.
{{flag|India}} with Reliance Communications.
{{flag|Uzbekistan}} with Ucell.
{{flag|Turkey}} with Turkcell.
{{flag|Philippines}} with Vodafone and Smart Communications.
{{flag|Indonesia}} with XL Axiata.

= Tip Jar =

In May 2021, Twitter began testing a Tip Jar feature on its iOS and Android clients. The feature allows users to send monetary tips to certain accounts, providing a financial incentive for content creators on the platform. The Tip Jar is optional and users can choose whether or not to enable tips for their account. The day the feature was launched, a user discovered that sending a tip through PayPal would reveal the sender's address to the recipient.{{Cite news |last=Gartenberg |first=Chaim |date=March 6, 2021 |title=Twitter is testing a new Tip Jar feature for sending money to your favorite accounts |language=en |work=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/6/22423583/twitter-tip-jar-feature-sending-money-venmo-cashapp |access-date=May 7, 2021}}

On September 23, 2021, Twitter announced that it will allow users to tip users on the social network with bitcoin. The feature will be available for iOS users. Previously, users could tip with fiat currency using services such as Square's Cash app and PayPal's Venmo. Twitter will integrate the Strike bitcoin lightning wallet service. It was noted that at this current time, Twitter will not take a cut of any money sent through the tips feature.{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Salvador |date=September 23, 2021 |title=You can now get paid in bitcoin to use Twitter |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/23/you-can-now-get-paid-in-bitcoin-to-use-twitter.html |access-date=September 23, 2021 |website=CNBC |language=en}}

= The Shop Module =

In July 2021, Twitter launched a test of The Shop Module, a shopping extension that directs customers to a brand's products from its official Twitter account. The feature initially launched for US-based users only and only on iOS.{{Cite news |last=Porter |first=Jon |date=July 28, 2021 |title=Twitter pilots a new shopping section for brands |language=en |work=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/28/22597576/twitter-shopping-module-pilot-gamestop-arden-cove-brands |access-date=July 28, 2021}}

= Safety Mode =

On September 1, 2021, Twitter began to roll out Safety Mode, allowing users to reduce disruptive interactions. The rollout began with a small beta-feedback group on iOS, Android, and Twitter's web application.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=September 1, 2021 |title=Twitter's new Safety Mode autoblocks abusive accounts |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/1/22652572/twitter-safety-mode-autoblocks-abusive-accounts-beta |access-date=September 23, 2021 |website=The Verge |language=en}}

The functionality allows users to temporarily block accounts for seven days when potentially harmful language is detected. If a user has Safety Mode enabled, authors of tweets that are identified by Twitter's technology as being harmful or exercising uninvited behavior will be temporarily unable to follow the account, send direct messages, or see tweets from the user with the enabled functionality during the temporary block period. Jarrod Doherty, senior product manager at Twitter, stated that the technology in place within Safety mode assesses existing relationships to prevent blocking accounts that the user frequently interacts with.

Twitter first revealed Safety Mode in February 2021 within the Analyst Day slide deck.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=February 25, 2021 |title=Twitter planning a feature to let you auto-block and mute abusive accounts |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/25/22301388/twitter-auto-block-mute-abusive-accounts-safety-mode |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901202442/https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/25/22301388/twitter-auto-block-mute-abusive-accounts-safety-mode |archive-date=September 1, 2021 |access-date=September 23, 2021 |website=The Verge |language=en}}

= NFT digital assets =

On September 23, 2021, Twitter revealed that it was experimenting with a feature that would allow users to authenticate and showcase their collections of NFT digital assets on the platform.{{cite web |last1=Heath |first1=Alex |title=Twitter enables tipping with Bitcoin, plans to let users authenticate NFTs |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/23/22689806/twitter-bitcoin-lightning-tipping-nft-authentication |website=The Verge |access-date=5 May 2024 |language=en |date=23 September 2021}} The feature was added on January 20, 2022, allowing Twitter Blue subscribers to connect their cryptocurrency wallet to display an NFT they own as a hexagon-shaped profile picture.{{cite web |last1=Lawler |first1=Richard |title=Twitter brings NFTs to the timeline as hexagon-shaped profile pictures |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/20/22893502/nft-twitter-profile-picture-crypto-wallet-opensea-coinbase-right-click |website=The Verge |access-date=5 May 2024 |language=en |date=20 January 2022}}

The ability to set new NFT profile pictures was silently removed in January 2024.{{cite web |last1=Mehta |first1=Ivan |title=X removes support for NFT profile pictures |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/10/x-removes-support-for-nft-profile-pictures/ |website=TechCrunch |access-date=5 May 2024 |date=10 January 2024}}

= Live shopping =

On November 22, 2021, Twitter announced live shopping{{Cite web |title=Watch, Chat, Shop: Live Shopping on Twitter |url=https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2021/watch--chat--shop--live-shopping-on-twitter |access-date=December 2, 2021 |website=blog.twitter.com |language=en-us}}Wikipedia:SPS feature on its platform. Walmart will be the first retailer to test Twitter's new livestream shopping platform.{{Cite web |title=Walmart will be the first retailer to test Twitter's new livestream shopping platform |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/22/walmart-will-be-the-first-retailer-to-test-twitters-new-livestream-shopping-platform/ |access-date=December 2, 2021 |website=TechCrunch |date=22 November 2021 |language=en-US |archive-date=December 3, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203150659/https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/22/walmart-will-be-the-first-retailer-to-test-twitters-new-livestream-shopping-platform/ }} The company stated that it is part of their continuing efforts to bring engaging experiences to customers that allow them to shop seamlessly while also being entertained.

= Shops =

Twitter allow companies to showcase up to 50 products for sale on their profiles, as part of new feature testing. Shops will help Twitter to gain a piece of the $45 billion US market for social commerce.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-10 |title=Twitter begins testing 'Shops' feature to grow ecommerce |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/2347271/twitter-begins-testing-shops-feature-to-grow-ecommerce |access-date=March 10, 2022 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}

= Community Notes =

File:Community_Notes_logo.png

{{excerpt|Community Notes|templates=0|files=0|references=no|paragraphs=1,2}}

= X Money Account =

In January 2025, X partnered with Visa to be the first partner for a new feature called the X Money Account. The product would enable X users to move funds between traditional bank accounts and their digital wallet and make instant peer-to-peer payments.{{Cite web |last=Sigalos |first=Hugh Son,MacKenzie |date=2025-01-28 |title=Elon Musk's X begins its push into financial services with Visa deal |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/elon-musk-x-visa-digital-wallet.html |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=CNBC |language=en}}

= Grok =

References

Category:Software features

Category:Twitter