The rumors are true. Twitter is changing the rules to allow users to fit more into each tweet, while still keeping the 140-character limit.
According to a post on the official Twitter blog, the changes include the ability to attach media and links without counting toward the character limit.
Also, @names will no longer count toward the limit, meaning one can reach more people with one tweet.
“This will make having conversations on Twitter easier and more straightforward, no more penny-pinching your words to ensure they reach the whole group,” according to the blog post.
Also, users will no longer have to use the convention “.@” to make a reply visible to all a user’s followers.
Users will also be allowed to retweet themselves “so you can easily Retweet or Quote Tweet yourself when you want to share a new reflection or feel like a really good one went unnoticed,” according to Twitter.
And there may be more in store.
“In addition to the changes outlined above, we have plans to help you get even more from your Tweets,” read the blog post. “We’re exploring ways to make existing uses easier and enable new ones, all without compromising the unique brevity and speed that make Twitter the best place for live commentary, connections, and conversations.”
Twitter said the changes will be rolled out in the “coming months.”
The changes come as the company, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, has been trying to grow its user base and find revenue streams. The company has never turned a profit, despite a user base of more than 300 million users.
The company reportedly lost more than two million users in the last part of 2015.
Jack Dorsey, who founded Twitter and then left, came back to the company last year to try to revive its fortunes, saying he was not going to be shy about building more utility and power into Twitter. "As long as it’s consistent with what people want to do, we’re going to explore it,” he said.
Like Facebook, Twitter has been encouraging the use of media such as photos and videos, and recently added a polling feature. The company also tweaked the timeline allowing users to see so-called “best” tweets first or to continue to see them in chronological order.
The company also says it reached a $10 million deal with the National Football League to stream 10 Thursday night games during the upcoming season.
