In 2006, when we introduced Twitter’s API, Tweets were simple 140-character text messages, often sent via SMS. Now, the products and apps built using Twitter data feature Tweets that include photos, GIFs, videos, polls, and more.
Today, we’re excited to announce an upcoming set of changes rolling out over the coming months to enable people to express even more within 140 characters. These changes will allow for richer public conversations that are easier to follow on Twitter, and ensure people can attach extra elements, media, and content to Tweets without sacrificing the characters they have to share their view.
Our goal is to give developers and partners this advance notice of changes to the format of Tweets so that they can prepare their products and applications appropriately.
We are simplifying the way that replies and attachments work on Twitter by moving some of the “scaffolding” of Tweets into display elements so they no longer count towards the character limit within the Tweet.
Backward and forward compatibility for third party clients and other API users are our primary considerations.
There are a number of areas that will be impacted by the change:
The following items will change within Tweet payloads:
To support these changes, there will also be a few new options on API endpoints that create or consume Tweets. For more detailed information, we’ve written initial technical documentation. Full updates across Twitter’s existing API documentation will be provided when the changes are deployed in the future.
If you have questions, please post them in our TwitterDev community forums or Tweet us @TwitterDev. In addition, stay tuned to announcements from @TwitterDev as we get closer to shipping these changes. We’re here to help you transition your products successfully to take advantage of these exciting new features.
*Editor's note: As of November 2017, Twitter has increased the character count of Tweets in certain languages to make it easier to share what’s happening.