Twitter may give paid users five seconds to retract posts amid ‘misinformation epidemic’
Would you pay for Twitter if you could ‘unsend’ tweets? Social media platform may give paid users five seconds to retract posts amid censorship claims and ‘misinformation epidemic’
- Blogger Jane Manchun Wong leaked a prototype of the ‘undo’ feature
- Twitter confirmed its being tested as a perk in a possible subscription model
- The company first floated an ‘undo’ option in a user survey last summer
- It comes on the heels of the ‘super follow’ feature allowing users to charge for exclusive content
- Adding subscriptions would allow Twitter to wean itself off ad revenue
Twitter has confirmed its testing an ‘undo send’ feature that would give users five seconds to retract a tweet before its posted.
The feature would be one of several options available to paid subscribers of the popular social media platform, Twitter spokesperson confirmed Friday.
The ability to ‘undo’ a tweet was first teased last summer in a user survey asking members what features they’d be most interested in.
Twitter recently announced it will be rolling out a ‘super follow’ feature allowing users to charge followers for exclusive content, similar to OnlyFans.
The new paid features come in the wake of complaints of censorship and a misinformation epidemic on the platform.
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Twitter has confirmed it’s testing a ‘undo send’ feature that could be a perk for paid members in a proposed subscription model.
Tech blogger Jane Manchun Wong, who often discovers unannounced social media features by diving into the sites’ code, first uncovered the ‘unsend’ option.
Wong tweeted an animation showing a tweet with a spelling error where an ‘undo’ button was available before a short timer ran out.
Users have long clamored for the chance to edit their posts, something CEO Jack Dorsey has been adamant the platform would never provide.
A Twitter spokeswoman said the ‘undo’ feature was being tested as part of its ongoing exploration into subscription model, which would reduce its dependence on ad revenue.
Twitter has announced a number of new features to compete with rivals, including Twitter ‘Fleets,’ which are comparable to Instagram Stories, and a ‘super follow’ feature that will let members charge for access to exclusive content, similar to OnlyFans
‘We want to make sure any new line of revenue is complementary to our advertising business,’ Dorsey said in July, according to CNN Business.
‘We do think there is a world where subscription is complementary, where commerce is complementary, where helping people manage paywalls […] is complementary.’
The company included a possible ‘undo send’ feature in a user survey last summer asking which features people would like to have available through a subscription model.
Last summer, Twitter surveyed users about features they felt were worth an extra fee as part of its exploration into a subscription platform. In addition to an ‘undo send’ button, options included the ability to write auto-responses, create custom stickers, and to assign user roles
The survey described a feature that gave users 30 seconds to cancel a tweet, while the version posted by Wong is a much shorter window, about five seconds.
Other options in the survey included the ability to customize colors, recruit for jobs, assign user roles, make longer and higher-resolution videos.
But Engadget theorized that if Twitter is testing the ‘undo’ button with users it might end up a free feature for all members.
After a fairly static few years, Twitter has been ramping up new features to compete with other social media sites.
In November it rolled out short-lived tweets called ‘Fleets’ to compete with Instagram Stories.
In February, Twitter announced a ‘super follow’ feature for later this year that will let members charge followers for access to exclusive content, similar to how OnlyFans operates.
That content could include newsletters, videos, deals and discounts that users would pay a monthly subscription fee to access.
Product lead Kayvon Beykpour said the fee scale and content would be ‘highly customizable based on the creator.’
‘They can directly monetize from the audience they’ve already built on Twitter,’ he added.
Another new product, Twitter Spaces, is a Clubhouse competitor that lets users participate in audio chats.
It is currently in private beta testing, which means it’s not yet available to the general Twitter audience.
Finally, the company announced a new feature called Communities, which appear to be its take on Facebook Groups.
The San Francisco-based social media giant has been looking at ways to change its open-door model after ongoing criticism it’s failed to halt hate speech and misinformation.
In June, Unilever halted all advertising on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the remainder of 2020.
The platforms needed to do more ‘in the areas of divisiveness and hate speech during this polarized election period in the US,’ said Luis Di Como, Unilever’s executive vice-president of global media.
‘Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society.’
In the fall, Twitter cracked down on conspiracy theories about election fraud, flagging 300,000 tweets as ‘potentially misleading’ in the weeks surrounding Election Day.
After the January 6 assault on the Capitol building, it permanently banned former U.S. President Donald Trump, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other high-profile right-wing politicians and personalities.
This month Twitter launched a new ‘strike’ system for users who post tweets containing Covid-19 misinformation.
The policy will punishes repeat offenders with temporary suspensions, which could lead to permanent suspension from the platform after five strikes.
The social network is also expanding its use of warning labels to tweets that may contain misleading information about the Covid-19 vaccines.
Twitter has said its revenue goal for 2023 is more than $7.5 billion, more than double its 2020 revenue of $3.7 billion.
