Twitter Tests Emoji-style Reactions on Tweets

Twitter is testing a feature that will allow users to express how a particular post or tweet made them feel, though in the meantime the company is testing tweet reactions in Turkey, promising that it could expand the feature to other regions soon.

Currently, Twitter users click on a heart icon if they want to “like” a tweet. On Thursday, Twitter said it’s testing Tweet Reactions, giving users the option of clicking on emojis such as a laughing crying face, a sad face with a single tear, a thinking face, hands clapping or a heart. The company is making the reactions available in Turkey for a limited time but said it could expand the experiment to other places. To access the reactions, Twitter users long-press on the heart icon on a tweet.

Twitter has been experimenting with more features as it tries to get people to use the social media site more often. Other social networks such as Facebook already offer users a way to react to a post that goes beyond the like button.

Twitter said it choose the emojis for Tweet Reactions after conducting research about the most common words and emojis in tweets and surveying people about the emotions they feel after reading a tweet. The most commonly used emoji in tweets, the company said, is the laughing crying face emoji. Twitter users also felt negative emotions such as frustration and anger after reading tweets, but the company said it’s not including those reactions for now as part of its experiment.

“People we spoke with expressed that they were concerned about receiving negative reactions to some of their thoughts and that if people felt this way about their Tweets, they’d prefer other methods of engagement that allow for more context,” Twitter said.

In recent weeks, Twitter has been testing several new features to keep up to date with other social media sites, such as Facebook, which has offered post reactions since February 2016.