Twitter has rolled out an automatic version of its t.co URL shortening service, which will allow its users to paste a URL of any length in their tweets via the company’s website, without worrying that it will exceed the tweet’s 140-character limit.
According to a Twitter’s support page:
“After you’ve composed your Tweet and you hit the “Tweet” button, we’ll shorten the link so that it only takes up 19 characters…You no longer have to worry about fitting a long link into the 140 character limit.”
[RELATED_ARTICLE]After entering 13 characters of a URL, the user will be prompted that the URL will be shortened, and even after the 140-character limit is reached, users can continue to insert URL text. After the tweet button is pressed, the URL will be given the t.co link shortened ID, but, will appear as a shortened but recognizable version of the original URL, so that readers can look before they leap.
Twitter will also check any inserted URL against a database of dangerous sites, and, if detected, warn the user when they are adding it to their message.
Initially, the service will be available in only a few territories, but will be rolled out globally soon.