Twitter lets US Blue subscribers tweet up to 4,000 characters; in timelines, longer tweets will be capped at 280 characters and have an option to “Show more”

need more than 280 characters to express yourself? we know that lots of you do... and while we love a good thread, sometimes you just want to Tweet everything all at once. we get that. so we're introducing longer Tweets! you're gonna want to check this out. tap this 👉

@twitterblue 2023-02-09

Context & Ripple Effects

Twitter had already shifted its core format from 140 to 280-character tweets, while earlier reporting described a proposed 10,000-character "Beyond 140" format that would preserve a short timeline preview. Blue's new 4,000-character limit applies that preview-and-expand model to a paid subscriber tier.

The change is an intermediate step rather than a final ceiling: Twitter later raised Blue's limit to 10,000 characters, reinforcing that longer-form posting is becoming a subscriber capability while the timeline retains its compact default.

First-order effects

US Blue subscribers can publish posts up to 4,000 characters, while non-subscribers encounter only the first 280 characters unless they select “Show more.”
Twitter keeps the scannable 280-character timeline intact even as it gives paying users a way to publish a full argument or update in one post rather than a thread.

Second-order effects

Creators who want a single long post gain a Blue-specific publishing advantage, making the subscription more relevant to writers and organizations that previously relied on multi-post threads.
Because longer posts are collapsed by default, authors must still make the opening 280 characters compelling enough to earn expansion; the new limit does not guarantee more timeline attention.

Third-order effects

Twitter is separating composition length from feed presentation: a short-form discovery layer can coexist with long-form posts behind an expansion control.
If limit increases continue under Blue, posting-format features become part of Twitter's subscription differentiation rather than a uniform rule for the entire network.

The trend: Twitter is turning its historically fixed-length post format into a tiered product feature while retaining a concise timeline interface.

Discussion

@twitter @twitter on x
more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more.…
@_jasminebaba Jasmine on x
Even more reason to block people who pay for twitter blue https://twitter.com/...
@erinbiba Erin Biba on x
The thing here that gets me is the part where the day subscribers can reply to 4000 character tweets with 4000 character RTs and.... Just imagine what that is going to be like LOL https://twitter.com/...
@iucounu @iucounu on x
obviously, this is terrible and whatnot, but the upside is if Trump ever returns this will absolutely destroy him as a poster. The strange alchemy resulting from his madness plus the 280 character limit will be fatally diluted https://twitter.com/...
@thelogantrent Logan on x
This meme is about to start putting up Wilt Chamberlain numbers for everyone https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@_zeets Zito on x
That man is broke https://twitter.com/...
@shelbygraces @shelbygraces on x
cvs receipt lookin... i'm not reading all that https://twitter.com/...
@adamliaw Adam Liaw on x
Just what everyone wanted. The long-form thoughts of Twitter Blue subscribers. https://twitter.com/...
@shanselman Scott Hanselman on x
What in the CVS Receipt is this https://twitter.com/...
@kevinmkruse Kevin M. Kruse on x
I'll immediately block anyone who drops a 4000-character tweet into my feed. The entire appeal of this place is the short format. No one wants to read trolls' manifestos. https://twitter.com/...
@codykeenan Cody Keenan on x
speechwriters twitter users 🤝 more words are bad https://twitter.com/...
@elienyc Elie Mystal on x
So now the people who pay $8 for Twitter can call me the n-word 550 times per tweet instead of 40? Cool, cool as long as I still only have to press block once. https://twitter.com/...
@billkuchman Bill Kuchman on x
Phew. So no legit account will actually be writing 4,000-character tweets then. https://twitter.com/...
@harryeskin Harry Eskin on x
Anyone who sees these dumb long tweets: https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@paultassi Paul Tassi on x
I love how Twitter Blue is mainly about annoying everyone else on here: - Put a verified check on your anime pfp to confuse everyone - Elevate your stupid replies while others get buried - Make ridiculously long tweets for some reason https://twitter.com/...
@jbenton Joshua Benton on x
The right to drop 4,000 characters into your replies is a little terrifying https://twitter.com/...
@benmank77 Ben Mankiewicz on x
For years, my followers have been saying, “Great point, Ben. We just wish you'd rambled a little longer.” https://twitter.com/...
@melaniepodolyak Melaniya Podolyak on x
look, a CVS receipt https://twitter.com/...
@stokel @stokel on x
Thanks I hate it and you couldn't have chosen a better example of how its main use case is to fill posts with extraneous garbage https://twitter.com/...
@eugene_scott Eugene Scott on x
A lot of people are about to get muted https://twitter.com/...
@ketanj0 Ketan Joshi on x
If you didn't already have a good reason to block the majority of Twitter Blue accounts you encounter: https://twitter.com/...
@twitterdev @twitterdev on x
Paid basic access that offers low level of API usage, and access to Ads API for a $100 monthly fee.
@markscott82 Mark Scott on x
Update: @twitter is keeping its free API data access regime open for another week, but was also the only tech company to provide incomplete answers to @EU_Commission's new #disinformation code, including a lack of data & plan for working w/ fact-checkers https://twitter.com/...
@viacristiano Cristiano Lima on x
Twitter announces the sticker price for its API going forward: $100 a month for the base level. I wrote recently about how the change could price out researchers, particularly students and those outside the U.S. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@akinunver @akinunver on x
Couldn't come at a worse time. Most analysts and programmers that are building apps and functions for Turkey earthquake aid and relief, and are literally saving lives, are reliant on Twitter API. Any limit/structure/architecture change will make everyone's life difficult. https:/…
@possumeveryhour @possumeveryhour on x
Hi All An update regarding the API situation. Twitter is currently extending the free API access through February 13, but they're also introducing a new free API tier for sending 1500 tweets a month Depending on how it's handled, the bot might stop functioning for some time 🧵 htt…
@twitterdev @twitterdev on x
Also on February 13, we will deprecate the Premium API. If you're subscribed to Premium, you can apply for Enterprise to continue using these endpoints.
@twitterdev @twitterdev on x
This is a new chapter for the Twitter API to increase quality, reduce spam, and enable a thriving ecosystem. We appreciate your patience as we implement these changes and we can't wait to see what you build next! Stay tuned for more information on continued Twitter API access.
@deerhourly @deerhourly on x
With these planned changes @DeerHourly should remain functional. https://twitter.com/...
@thomas_violence Thomas Violence on x
introducing our newest feature: the thing we had before. its back. and it never left. and its new. youre welcome https://twitter.com/...
@jessehawken Jesse Hawken on x
Why would anyone pay good money to invest in a platform run by a man who asks “what does this button do?” after pressing it https://twitter.com/...
@alicemazzy Alice Maz on x
twitter is basically dead as a dev platform now. they're letting bots tweet but all fetch functionality will be $100/mo. I guess you can scrape or steal official api keys but why bother. no one will ever build anything valuable on this again https://twitter.com/...
@eramdam @eramdam on x
It's cheaper to get an Apple Developer Account for a year than to get one month of Twitter API under this new pricing structure, incredible.
@coopercooperco @coopercooperco on x
Extremely funny to have your site break to such a degree that portions of it are still down and then tweet out “hey here's another way you can pay money for this clearly broken platform!” https://twitter.com/...
@quinnypig @quinnypig on x
“We are making massively breaking changes to our API with mere days of notice; please pay us and continue to build atop our platform.” Sure, Jan. https://twitter.com/...
@dancow Dan Nguyen on x
Tomorrow was supposed to be when Twitter cut its free API access and yet they STILL don't have basic details about price and usage rate. Even 1-yr-old garage startups aren't this goddamn sloppy https://twitter.com/...
@chinchillahour @chinchillahour on x
The twitter devs have decided that chinchillas shall keep flowing! 1.5k should be more than enough for posting once every hour. If the API changes are big, it might require a rewrite, and therefore some down time, but they're not getting rid of me so easily! https://twitter.com/.…
@johnekdahl John ‘pro-norms’ Ekdahl on x
Zapier put out an alert email this afternoon saying that they were expecting their integrations to fail starting tomorrow due to the pending API changes. Definitely raised my eyebrow when things went haywire a couple hours later on Twitter. Related? Who knows, maybe. https://twit…
@stevanzetti Steven Monacelli on x
lmao https://twitter.com/...
@soletssay @soletssay on x
Hey y'all they're going to break Twitter again after the Super Bowl. https://twitter.com/...
@acecourtbot2 @acecourtbot2 on x
I can't say if I'll survive since @TwitterDev is not good at communicating. But I'll keep working at least until February, the 13th The Free API proposed won't work for me. And the $100 API hints at a “low usage” without explaining what it means https://twitter.com/...
@palettefm_bot @palettefm_bot on x
small update. twitter has extended the deadline for their API (which this bot depends on) for another 4 days. it's still not clear what APIs will work after that point and what it will cost. i'll keep you updated. https://twitter.com/...
@janeost_ Ellen Ring on x
lol love that they're pretending to graciously extend the free service when they actually have to extend it because their attempt to end it broke everything but scheduled tweets https://twitter.com/...
@twitterdev @twitterdev on x
A new form of free access will be introduced as this is extremely important to our ecosystem - limited to Tweet creation of up to 1,500 Tweets per month for a single authenticated user token, including Login with Twitter.
@nuicemedia @nuicemedia on x
Twitter launched long tweets this morning for Blue subscribers in the US. Twitter also launched Blue in Indonesia for Rp165k/month but no long tweets yet. Meanwhile, really long blog posts on Tumblr, Medium, Substack, etc. are free. https://techcrunch.com/...
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
I love breaking my website to make a total of $5000 extra a month https://twitter.com/...
@racheline_m @racheline_m on x
People are on Twitter for the content. They are now telling people who produce that content they have to pay to be here in any meaningful way. They are going to lose a vast majority of the accounts that make this place a place to be. https://twitter.com/...

Chronicles