Twitter is testing the next best thing to the edit button — an undo send feature

We’ve all been there, staring at a tweet where we made a huge typo. We’ve all also yelled, “Why wouldn’t you give us an edit button, Twitter?” while looking at our screens in frustration.

We might not be getting an edit button anytime soon, but we might get the next best thing: an undo send button. Tipster extraordinaire Jane Manchun Wong tweeted today that the social network is testing this very feature.

From the GIF she posted, we could see that the timer lasts for about five to six seconds before the tweet is sent. So, if you made a typo, you have just five to six seconds to cancel the tweet, and correct your mistake.

Twitter is working on “Undo Send” timer for tweets pic.twitter.com/nS0kuijPK0

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) March 5, 2021

We might see a ton of Clubhouse (or Twitter Spaces) debates on what’s the best way to implement this. However, product designer David Svezhintsev noted that in the current version, you can’t see the preview of the tweet while time is running out. I agree with him, Twitter could keep the undo time five seconds or ten seconds, often, I wouldn’t realize that I made the typo if I don’t see the preview. 

Well, in that case I wish there was a preview of the tweet while watching that ticker go.

— David Svezhintsev (@daveranan) March 5, 2021

Nevertheless, I want this feature to be rolled out to at least some users to get feedback and see how effective it is in reducing typos. I beg you Twitter, please do it.