Twitter is testing a new way to share tweets in India, by adding a WhatsApp button under the posts for Android users. People will be able to share tweets with their contacts and groups on WhatsApp by tapping on the new button and selecting the WhatsApp option again — which is cumbersome and confusing.
The WhatsApp share button will replace the regular share button under the tweet, which opens different options like bookmarking, sending via Direct Message, copy link to Tweet and sharing to other social media platforms. The WhatsApp icon is just replacing the share icon without changing the functionality, making it an incoherent implementation.
“Starting today, we are rolling out a new experiment exclusively in India – an important market for us. We are replacing the share icon on Tweets with the WhatsApp icon for the majority of people who use Twitter on Android in the country, so sharing their favorite or noteworthy Tweets is easy even beyond Twitter, making the experience more open, accessible, and holistic for them,” Shirish Andhare, director and product head, Twitter India said.
Twitter’s not the first social network to experiment with the “share to WhatsApp” button in India. Local language social network ShareChat, backed by the likes of Twitter and Google, has a similar button next to all their posts, with a counter for the number of shares.
While usually Twitter limits its tests to a select set of users, this new test will be available to the majority of Twitter for Android users in India. But given it’s an experiment, the company could scrap this new sharing feature altogether.
According to a report, Twitter is also making it easier for everyone using its iOS and Android apps to send tweets to social platforms such as LinkedIn, Snapchat and Instagram.
Twitter has on September 9 announced a new experiment in India wherein it will start showing a WhatsApp share button instead of the regular share icon to the majority of Android users in India.
The social media firm said India will be the first country for this experiment and it hopes this change encourages more people to join the conversation.
“Conversations are core to Twitter and we are focussed on making the experience personalised for our audiences. Starting today, we are rolling out a new experiment exclusively in India – an important market for us,” said Shirish Andhare, Director and Product Head – Twitter India.
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He said this move will make it easier for users to share their favourite or noteworthy Tweets beyond Twitter, “making the experience more open, accessible and holistic for them”.
“Our goal behind testing this feature in India, home to one of the most diverse sets of audience, is to unlock the learnings and potential and apply them to other Android first markets and the rest of the world,” he said.
— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) September 8, 2022
As part of the WhatsApp icon experiment, several people using Twitter’s Android app may see the WhatsApp icon on a Tweet starting today.
Once they choose the WhatsApp icon, a share menu will open up showing all the available share options, following which they can choose the WhatsApp icon to be redirected to the WhatsApp app with the Tweet link ready to be shared, the company said.
If people don’t see the WhatsApp icon, they can tap on the regular Twitter share icon to find the WhatsApp option. One can share the Tweet link with a single person or a group in a message, although protected tweets cannot be shared, it said.
Twitter said it is also making it easier for everyone using its iOS and Android apps to send tweets to social platforms such as LinkedIn, Snapchat and Instagram besides WhatsApp.
This move comes on the heels of Twitter announcing a pilot of a much-requested edit button, starting internally and later expanding to the subscribers of its paid service Twitter Blue in the coming weeks.
It also rolled out ‘Circles’, a feature that lets users share their tweets with a smaller group of up to 150 people, including people they don’t follow.
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