Twitter Increases Tweet Length by Excluding Media and Links from Character Count

Twitter is changing how it counts characters in tweets, effectively giving users more space to write. While the 140-character limit remains in place, links, images, videos, and polls will no longer count towards that limit.

How the Change Works

Currently, any characters in a link, or the inclusion of media like images and videos, reduce the amount of text a user can include in a tweet. The upcoming change will exclude these elements from the 140-character count, allowing users to fully utilize the available space for their text. This applies to both original tweets and replies to other users’ posts.

Retweeting and Quoting Tweets

Twitter will also allow users to retweet and quote their own tweets, providing an opportunity to add commentary or re-emphasize a point. This feature will further enhance user engagement and conversation on the platform.

Direct Message Changes

This change follows a previous expansion of direct message capabilities. Since July 2015, direct messages between users have no longer been restricted to 140 characters, with the limit increased to 10,000 characters. This update transformed Twitter’s direct messaging feature into a more robust messaging alternative.

Timeline for Implementation

The introduction of these changes is planned for the coming months.