Twitter Moments launches: Site rolls out news service to users, intended to help people sort through tweets

The feature, introduced months ago as ‘Project Lightning’, is supposed to let people find things on Twitter without having to curate a news feed

Twitter has made a number of minor changes to its character limit in the past (Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)

Twitter has launched “Moments”, a new feature intended to let people find the important things that are being tweeted.

The feature, which is thought to be part of Twitter’s attempt to become a news service, collects important tweets and puts them together in a new tab. There, stories that are developing on Twitter can be brought together, with tweets from important people whether or not users follow them.

The feature can be accessed by clicking on the small lightning bolt in the app. That opens up the Moments, which are a collection of the various pieces of media that Twitter can show, like videos, Vines, images and the tweets themselves.

When users have finished with the moments, they can either share it themselves, interact with any of the tweets inside, or go back to their normal feed.

They can also follow a moment, so that they can see updates as they happen. Such a tool will only be available on some stories — “like live sporting events or awards shows where it’s critical to know what’s happening minute by minute”, Twitter said — which will “blend the tweets directly into your timeline”.

The Moments are mostly put together by Twitter, rather than users, and are assembled around big news events. Other partners like Fox News, Getty Images, Nasa and the New York Times will also be able to make Moments — and that list is likely to expand in the future.

It is currently only being introduced for people in the US who are on Android, iPhone and the desktop site.

“But as with Tweets, a Moment can be shared anywhere,” the company said in a blogpost. “If you discover a link to a Moment in a Tweet or DM, or embedded elsewhere, those outside the US can enjoy the same experience we’re rolling out today.”