Twitter’s upcoming edit feature can keep track of tweet history

Editing a tweet with Twitter’s next edit button could leave a digital trail of your tweet’s history, according to reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong. In a tweetManchun Wong explains that the edit feature appears to have an “immutable” quality, meaning that Twitter can create an entirely new tweet when one is edited, while also preserving previous versions of that tweet.

“It appears that Twitter’s approach to Edit Tweet is immutable, as instead of mutating the Tweet text within the same Tweet (same ID), it re-creates a new Tweet with the modified content, along with the list of tweets. Previous Tweets. of that edition,” says Manchun Wong.

As Manchun Wong grades, it’s not clear how, or if, a tweet’s edit history will appear to users. But if Twitter decides to make tweet history public, it could be a way to address concerns about the feature being abused, as some critics believe it could be used to tamper with the public record and mislead users.

Applications researcher Alessandro Paluzzi also tweeted what appear to be screenshots of the new feature, giving us an idea of ​​what the edit button might actually look like when live on Twitter. In a screenshot, Paluzzi shows how the “Edit tweet” option might appear in the three-dot menu on the right side of your tweets.

Selecting the button takes you to a screen that looks a lot like the regular tweet composer, only it’s pre-filled with your tweet text and says “Update” in the bottom right corner instead of “Tweet.” However, Paluzzi’s screenshots don’t show an option to view a tweet’s edit history.

Twitter has yet to confirm the presence of a tweet history tracker. “Nothing else to share at this time beyond what is in this Tweet from @TwitterComms and that Tweet from @JaySullivanvice president of consumer products,” Anna Hubatsch, a Twitter spokeswoman, said in a statement emailed to the edge.

Twitter first announced that it is working on the coveted edit button earlier this month, after apparently joking about the function on April Fools’ Day. But just before Twitter’s official confirmation, Tesla CEO Elon Musk polled his followers about an edit button after revealing his purchase of a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, making him the largest individual shareholder. from Twitter. It’s been a whirlwind of events ever since, with Musk joining and leaving Twitter’s board of directors, and later offering to buy the entire company. Twitter shareholders are currently trying to block the Musk purchase using the poison pill method.