Twitter Rolling Out Voice Tweets on iOS

Twitter, the microblogging site has allowed a lot of conversations – in the form of tweets – on their platform, and now they are rolling out a new feature, “Voice Tweets”. This new feature will allow Twitter users to post a tweet in audio format using their voices. According to the company, it is first made available on iOS and for “a limited group of people on Twitter”.    

On June 17, 2020, Twitter announced that it is testing this new feature that will add a more human touch to the way we all use Twitter – with our very own voice. According to the company’s official statement, “Over the years, photos, videos, gifs, and extra characters have allowed you to add your own flair and personality to your conversations. But sometimes 280 characters aren’t enough, and some conversational nuances are lost in translation. So starting today, we’re testing a new feature that will add a more human touch to the way we use Twitter – your very own voice.”

Voice tweets allow users to record voice clips to publish as tweets. These tweets will have audio attachments that people can play. It joins with the many existing ways – that includes photos, GIFs, and plain text – in which users can converse on Twitter.

Compose a Voice Tweet on iOS

Tweeting with your voice is similar to Tweeting with text.

• Start by opening the Tweet composer and look for the new voice icon which resembles audio wavelengths. 

• Tap the voice icon and you’ll see your profile photo with the record button at the bottom.

(A static image will be displayed on your audio attachment which will be your current profile photo and it will not get refreshed even if you update your profile photo.)

• Tap on the “Record” button to start recording your voice. 

However, each voice Tweet captures up to 140 seconds of audio and if you want to share more audio, then you have to keep talking.  That is, once you reach the time limit for a Tweet, a new voice Tweet starts automatically and the additional audio will be connected in a thread of multiple tweets (up to 25 Tweets).

• Once you are done with recording, hit the “Done” button to end your recording and go back to the composer screen to Tweet. 

Once the voice tweets are published, people can see and listen to them in their feed amongst other tweets, regardless of whether they’re on iOS, Android, or desktop.

Moreover, on iOS, when you play voice tweets, the playback will automatically start in a new window, minimized in an audio dock at the bottom of your screen allowing you to keep listening as you scroll through the site. It will also allow you to keep listening even if you leave the app. 

Note: Currently, voice tweets are limited to original tweets only and are not allowed Tweeting with audio through replies or Retweets with Comment.

More about Voice Tweets

In 2017, Twitter announced it was expanding the limits on tweets from 140 to 280 characters. This feature potentially allows for much longer thoughts to be shared on the platform, limiting audio clips to 140 seconds. For users who have left a lot of messages or conversations, that is unsaid and uninterpreted with text can now rely on these audio tweets. Even if the limit is reached, instead of being cut off, these tweets allow a new tweet that will be threaded beneath the original, allowing the thoughts to continue pouring out. Twitter is hoping with audio tweets, it can enable a new type of communication that will give you the ability to share your perspectives quickly and easily with your voice and fits into the existing conversation flows.

Moreover, even if the feature is available only to a select number of users on Twitter for iOS currently, it’s expected that in the coming weeks everyone on iOS will be able to Tweet with their voice, see (hear) them and reply, said the company on its official announcement.  But it’s still not clear if and when it will be available for users of the Twitter app on Android devices.