14 DAY TRIAL // Twitter is reintroducing a feature it dropped when it upgraded to the New Twitter, automated link shortening. Now, when you add an URL to your tweets, it will automatically be shortened to take up only 19 characters. You can also use your preferred URL shortener, if you want detailed analytics for example.
"We’ve been working on a bunch of features to make Twitter easier to use. Today, we’re releasing something that many of you have been asking for – automatic link shortening on Twitter.com," Twitter announced.
"Just paste a link of any length into the Tweet box on Twitter.com. 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," it explained.
This new feature is aimed at those that haven't been using any link shortening service, making sure that they can take advantage of the convenience they offer even if they didn't realize this type of services existed or didn't know how they worked.
Twitter uses its own t.co shortening service, which it introduced more than a year ago. One advantage of Twitter's automated service is that the original link is partially displayed, not the t.co URL, so anyone will still see where the link points to, if they use Twitter.com or the official apps.
It's also easier to use than any of the dedicated services, all you need to do is paste the link in the tweet, Twitter takes care of the rest.
"This service also increases security. If users click links that are reported as malicious, we direct them to a page that warns them," Twitter added.
Finally, if you've been using Bit.ly, Goo.gl or any of the other shorteners, you can continue to do so, exactly like you have until now. Twitter has been moving in on areas that have normally been served by third-parties, but this move is not really like that, it makes like easier for users and doesn't interfere with existing services.