Twitter is about to start testing voice DMs for its users as per reports. Brazil to be the first country where this feature will be tested.
Twitter introduced voice tweets for iOs users in June 2020. In addition to that, Twitter is now willing to expand this feature further. They are testing to allow users to send voice messages in DMs too.
Criticism on the previous ‘voice tweet’ feature
While this may be true, Twitter is one of the most popular microblogging and social networking services globally. It has been receiving much criticism for its voice tweets feature, the main reason being the accessibility of the component.
The experimental feature has been under extensive debate over its accessibility issues. Available only for some iOS users, accessibility remains the major problem for Twitter.
Hey Matthew, this is an early version of this feature and we’re exploring ways to make these types of Tweets accessible to everyone.
— Support (@Support) June 17, 2020
On the ‘verge’
The product manager for direct messages (DMs) at Twitter, Alex Ackerman-Greenberg, disclosed The Verge that Twitter would be testing voice DMs soon.
Furthermore, Ackerman-Greenberg added that they knew that individuals needed more alternatives to communicate in private and public discussions on Twitter. He then appropriately discussed the publication about the new advancement through a 20-second voice message on Twitter itself.
Twitter to start testing voice DMs https://t.co/F1r8DyZvOg pic.twitter.com/KTWrzXmezw
— The Verge (@verge) September 23, 2020
What to expect?
As of now, the voice message feature is expected to have a simple interface as the voice tweet feature.
The product team at Twitter has reportedly designed an “in-line recording experience to make it easier to send these messages as part of the natural conversation flow.” This distinguishes this new feature from the voice tweets features allowed iOS users back in June.
In addition to that, there will be a ‘report message’ option, in case of the misuse of voice DMs. Currently, people can send only texts, GIFs, images, and videos through direct messages.
Twitter received a significant amount of criticism in the wake of reporting voice tweets when it became apparent that the organization had neglected to factor in availability.
However, in an ongoing interview (with agreement), the design manager at Twitter, Dantley Davis, ensured that they presently have some full-time accessibility team within product advancement. And that accessibility would be considered in any event, even when features are conceptualized.
The excitement about the new feature of Twitter is something. But Twitter should focus on the accessibility of this feature more than the feature itself. So far, several social networking services allow voice messages, such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
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