Twitter Testing Increased Character Limit

Twitter users got some surprising news on Tuesday when the company revealed they were testing out an increased character limit.

Tweets have always been capped at 140 characters, but developers are now rolling out 280-character limits for a select test group. If it’s a success, the higher limit is expected to be available to all users.

The application showed off two tweets in the new character limit through its official account and the account of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

“This is a small change, but a big move for us,” Dorsey wrote. “140 was an arbitrary choice based on the 160 character SMS limit. Proud of how thoughtful the team has been in solving a real problem people have when trying to tweet. And at the same time maintaining our brevity, speed, and essence!”

Twitter Product Manager Aliza Rosen also told users that one of the main reasons for the change was the limitations of certain languages. The Japanese, Chinese, and Korean languages don’t have issues with “cramming” tweets, and can express fuller thoughts on the platform.

The upped character limit, which will be tested in all languages except the three above, is an attempt to giving other language-speakers the same freedom.

Users’ reactions were mixed to the announcement, with some seeing no problem with the 140-character limit and others elated at the added space.

See some of the reactions below.