Character limit

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A character limit is a limit on the number of characters in a message which is used in SMS messaging and on social media platforms such as Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, GNU social, Bilibili, Pixiv, and Jejemon.

Contents

Character limits usually lead to messages being shorter and users being forced to shorten messages through the use of abbreviations, emojis and acronyms. [1]

The character limit originated with SMS messages which had a limit of 160 characters. This character limit was invented by Friedhelm Hillebrand in 1984, who determined that it was sufficient for most communications. [2] [3]

On Twitter

The 160-character limit was adopted by Twitter when the site launched in 2006, 20 characters were reserved for the username, with 140 characters for the tweet. [4] The original limit was seen as an iconic fixture of the platform, [5] [6] [7] encouraging "speed and brevity". [8]

In March 2017, the character limit on Twitter was changed so that media attachments or mentions in replies would not increase the character limit. [9] [10] [11] In November 2017, Twitter increased its character limit from 140 to 280 characters. [12] [13]

In 2023, Twitter boosted the character limit for Twitter Blue subscribers. In February, it was increased to 4000. [14] [15] In April, it was again increased to 10,000, [16] and in June, to 25,000. [17]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Boot, A.B., Tjong Kim Sang, E., Dijkstra, K. et al. How character limit affects language usage in tweets. Palgrave Commun 5, 76 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0280-3
  2. ↑ Tom Jowitt (4 December 2017). "Tales In Tech History: The SMS Text Message At 25". Silicon. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  3. ↑ Michael Ilegems (3 December 2014). "De sms bestaat 22 jaar: een terugblik". DataNews. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  4. ↑ Harry McCracken (24 May 2016). "A Brief History Of Twitter's 140-Character Limit". Fast Company. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  5. ↑ Bell, Carissa (26 September 2017). "Twitter is actually ditching the 140-character limit (for some)". Mashable . Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  6. ↑ Schofield, Zach (26 September 2017). "Twitter is experimenting with l-o-n-g 280-character tweets". ZDnet . Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  7. ↑ Perez, Sarah (26 September 2017). "Twitter trials expanding tweets from 140 characters to 280". TechCrunch . Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  8. ↑ Wang, Selina (26 September 2017). "Twitter to Let Some Break 140-Character Limit in Tweet Test". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  9. ↑ Perez, Sarah (30 March 2017). "Twitter stops counting @ Replies towards its 140 characters on web and mobile". TechCrunch . Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  10. ↑ Collins, Terry (30 March 2017). "Twitter makes more room for replies, just don't overdo it". CNET . Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  11. ↑ Newton, Casey (30 March 2017). "Twitter redesigns replies so usernames don't count against the 140-character limit". The Verge . Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  12. ↑ Natasha Lomas (27 September 2017). "So why oh why is Twitter doing #280?". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  13. ↑ Sarah Perez (7 November 2017). "Twitter officially expands its character count to 280 starting today". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  14. ↑ Jon Fingas (8 February 2023). "Twitter Blue users can now post tweets with up to 4,000 characters". engadget. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  15. ↑ Nicholas Reimann (8 February 2023). "Twitter Boosts Character Limit To 4,000 For Twitter Blue Subscribers". Forbes . Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  16. ↑ Rohan Goswami (14 April 2023). "Twitter now lets its paid subscribers tweet 10,000 characters". CNBC . Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  17. ↑ "Twitter Blue subscribers getting extended character limit for tweets". Times of India. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
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