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Twitter launches voice tweets on iOS to test ‘a more human touch’

Twitter has debuted its latest test today for a limited group of iOS users: voice tweets. Tweets using the new feature include a users’ profile picture with a play button to listen to up to 140 seconds of audio per tweet.

Twitter announced the new feature on its blog today:

Twitter is where you go to talk about what’s happening. 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.

While the feature is only available for a limited group of users for now, everyone will be able to see and hear voice tweets.

Tweeting with your voice is not too different from Tweeting with text. To start, open the Tweet composer and tap the new icon with wavelengths. You’ll see your profile photo with the record button at the bottom – tap this to record your voice.

Twitter has built-in an auto-thread feature for voice tweets that go over the 140-second limit.

Each voice Tweet captures up to 140 seconds of audio. Have more to say? Keep talking. Once you reach the time limit for a Tweet, a new voice Tweet starts automatically to create a thread. Once you’re done, tap the Done button to end your recording and go back to the composer screen to Tweet.

The company hopes voice tweets will reduce misunderstandings and “create a more human experience.”

There’s a lot that can be left unsaid or uninterpreted using text, so we hope voice Tweeting will create a more human experience for listeners and storytellers alike. Whether it’s #storytime about your encounter with wild geese in your neighborhood, a journalist sharing breaking news, or a first-hand account from a protest, we hope voice Tweeting gives you the ability to share your perspectives quickly and easily with your voice. We can’t wait to see how people will use this to make their voices heard and add to the public conversation.

While Twitter is doing limited testing on iOS starting today it says that everyone should see the feature on iOS “in the coming weeks.”

To see if you have access to voice tweets, look for a purple soundwave icon to the left of the camera icon above your keyboard when composing a new tweet.

Here’s a look at the new feature in one of the first voice tweets:

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Avatar for Michael Potuck Michael Potuck

Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 3,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, and detailed comparisons and tutorials.