Twitter May Ditch Retweet Icon

Twitter made a big decision last year to replace stars with hearts, the change allowed users to “like” tweets, and according to a new report, Twitter might make another major change. The microblogging network is testing a new version of its mobile app which ditches the Retweet icon in favor of “sharing options.” It may even throw in a speech bubble for good measure.

Twitter has confirmed that it’s conducting this tweet to see how it’s going to change user behavior on the microblogging network. “We’re testing new icons on Tweets to evaluate how this impacts the way that people use Twitter,” a spokesperson for Twitter confirmed to TechCrunch.

The new sharing button is going to add two additional options aside from the existing Retweet and Quote Tweet options. The new additions include Send by Direct Message and Share Tweet. The former is pretty self-explanatory, tapping on it will let users easily share a Tweet via DM while the latter will simply launch the handset’s share menu.

Retweets have been an integral part of the Twitter experience for many years. It enables users to easily share content on their own timelines that they come across on Twitter. Hiding retweets behind the share label might help Twitter bring in more users who might feel put off by the microblogging network’s own jargon.

The test will help Twitter see whether or not this is going to make a difference. If it decides to make the switch, we’ll know that it does.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Web
Tags: Twitter