Twitter begins testing a new voice messages feature for direct messages

After rolling out an experimental voice attachments feature in tweets, Twitter is now testing the ability to send voice notes in direct messages (DMs). Alex Ackerman-Greenberg, product manager for direct messages at Twitter, announced the feature via a 20-second voice message to The Verge’s Chris Welch, adding that the company knows that “people want more options for how they express themselves in conversations on Twitter — both publicly and privately”. The feature will begin rolling out in Brazil first.

The voice messages feature supposedly has a simplistic UI, with the message containing just a play/pause icon and the profile picture of the sender in the message. The icon pulses when a recorded message is being played. The firm added that it aims to design an “in-line recording experience to make it easier to send these messages as part of the natural conversation flow”. Additionally, there is an option to report the message in case it is misused.

The micro-blogging site faced backlash over the lack of accessibility features when it began testing the audio tweet feature. The company then formed a new ‘Experience Accessibility Team’ to help build accessibility early on during the development of features and to integrate capabilities for a diverse set of users in its existing offerings. It will be interesting to see how the firm’s features evolve, and if the company addresses the concerns with the voice messages feature when it makes it to all users.

Via Neowin