# Character limit

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_limit
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Limit on the number of characters in a message

For the book, see [Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter](/source/Character_Limit%3A_How_Elon_Musk_Destroyed_Twitter).

A **character limit** is a limit on the number of characters in a message which is used in [SMS](/source/SMS) messaging and on [social media](/source/Social_media) platforms such as [Twitter](/source/Twitter), [Mastodon](/source/Mastodon_(social_network)), [Bluesky](/source/Bluesky), [GNU social](/source/GNU_social), [Bilibili](/source/Bilibili), [Pixiv](/source/Pixiv), and [Jejemon](/source/Jejemon).

Character limits usually lead to messages being shorter and users being forced to shorten messages through the use of [abbreviations](/source/Abbreviations), [emojis](/source/Emojis) and [acronyms](/source/Acronyms).[1]

The character limit originated with [SMS](/source/SMS) messages which had a limit of 160 characters. This character limit was invented by [Friedhelm Hillebrand](/source/Friedhelm_Hillebrand) in 1984, who determined that it was sufficient for most communications.[2][3]

## On Twitter

The 160-character limit was adopted by [Twitter](/source/Twitter) when the site launched in 2006, 20 characters were reserved for the username, with 140 characters for the tweet.[4] The original limit was seen as an iconic fixture of the platform,[5][6][7] encouraging "speed and brevity".[8]

In March 2017, the character limit on Twitter was changed so that media attachments or mentions in replies would not increase the character limit.[9][10][11] In November 2017, Twitter increased its character limit from 140 to 280 characters.[12][13]

In 2023, Twitter boosted the character limit for [Twitter Blue](/source/Twitter_Blue) subscribers. In February, it was increased to 4000.[14][15] In April, it was again increased to 10,000,[16] and in June, to 25,000.[17]

## See also

- [Characters per line](/source/Characters_per_line)

- [Line length](/source/Line_length)

- [Tweet (social media)](/source/Tweet_(social_media))

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Boot, Arnout B.; Tjong Kim Sang, Erik; Dijkstra, Katinka; Zwaan, Rolf A. (9 July 2019). ["How character limit affects language usage in tweets"](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-019-0280-3). *Palgrave Communications*. **5** (1): 76. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1057/s41599-019-0280-3](https://doi.org/10.1057%2Fs41599-019-0280-3). [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[1765/118072](https://hdl.handle.net/1765%2F118072). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [2055-1045](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2055-1045).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Tom Jowitt (4 December 2017). ["Tales In Tech History: The SMS Text Message At 25"](https://www.silicon.co.uk/mobility/smartphones/tales-tech-history-sms-212391). Silicon. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Michael Ilegems (3 December 2014). ["De sms bestaat 22 jaar: een terugblik"](https://datanews.knack.be/nieuws/de-sms-bestaat-22-jaar-een-terugblik/). DataNews. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Harry McCracken (24 May 2016). ["A Brief History Of Twitter's 140-Character Limit"](https://www.fastcompany.com/3060165/a-brief-history-of-twitters-140-character-limit). Fast Company. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:7_5-0)** Bell, Carissa (26 September 2017). ["Twitter is actually ditching the 140-character limit (for some)"](https://mashable.com/article/twitter-character-count-280-test). *[Mashable](/source/Mashable)*. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Schofield, Zach (26 September 2017). ["Twitter is experimenting with l-o-n-g 280-character tweets"](https://www.zdnet.com/article/twitter-is-experimenting-with-280-character-tweets/). *[ZDnet](/source/ZDnet)*. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Perez, Sarah (26 September 2017). ["Twitter trials expanding tweets from 140 characters to 280"](https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/26/twitter-trials-an-expansion-beyond-140-characters/). *[TechCrunch](/source/TechCrunch)*. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:6_8-0)** Wang, Selina (26 September 2017). ["Twitter to Let Some Break 140-Character Limit in Tweet Test"](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-26/twitter-to-let-some-break-the-140-character-limit-in-tweet-test). *Bloomberg.com*. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Perez, Sarah (30 March 2017). ["Twitter stops counting @ Replies towards its 140 characters on web and mobile"](https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/30/twitter-stops-counting-replies-towards-its-140-characters/). *[TechCrunch](/source/TechCrunch)*. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Collins, Terry (30 March 2017). ["Twitter makes more room for replies, just don't overdo it"](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/twitter-usernames-wont-count-in-140-character-limit/). *[CNET](/source/CNET)*. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [Newton, Casey](/source/Casey_Newton) (30 March 2017). ["Twitter redesigns replies so usernames don't count against the 140-character limit"](https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15115290/twitter-replies-redesign-character-limit). *[The Verge](/source/The_Verge)*. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Natasha Lomas (27 September 2017). ["So why oh why is Twitter doing #280?"](https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/27/so-why-oh-why-is-twitter-doing-280/). Tech Crunch. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Sarah Perez (7 November 2017). ["Twitter officially expands its character count to 280 starting today"](https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/07/twitter-officially-expands-its-character-count-to-280-starting-today/). Tech Crunch. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Jon Fingas (8 February 2023). ["Twitter Blue users can now post tweets with up to 4,000 characters"](https://www.engadget.com/twitter-blue-4000-characters-tweets-205319437.html). engadget. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Nicholas Reimann (8 February 2023). ["Twitter Boosts Character Limit To 4,000 For Twitter Blue Subscribers"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2023/02/08/twitter-boosts-character-limit-to-4000-for-twitter-blue-subscribers/). *[Forbes](/source/Forbes)*. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Rohan Goswami (14 April 2023). ["Twitter now lets its paid subscribers tweet 10,000 characters"](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/14/twitter-now-lets-its-paid-subscribers-tweet-10000-characters.html). [CNBC](/source/CNBC). Retrieved 15 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Twitter Blue subscribers getting extended character limit for tweets"](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/twitter-blue-subscribers-getting-extended-character-limit-for-tweets/articleshow/101317115.cms). [Times of India](/source/Times_of_India). 27 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Character limit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_limit) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_limit?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.