X Removes Timestamp and Edit History of Posts

X (formerly Twitter) has reportedly disabled the edit history of posts. Quietly, the company has gotten rid of any way to see previous versions of a post that has been edited after publishing, including timestamps of edits.

Word comes by way of Pop Base, which flagged that X has removed the ability to see the timestamp and edit history information. This, of course, raises red flags as concerns over the spread of misinformation continue to brew.

Up until recently, X supported the ability of Premium subscribers to edit a post with the caveat that other users could see the edit history and timestamps. For instance, if you published a post and had to edit a grammar error, you can do so as long as you are a member of the Basic tier or above. However, up until recently, other users (paid or otherwise) could see the history of the post’s edits.

X previously allowed users to see the original version of the post. So, while your grammar error was fixed and looks great on the timeline, others could click on it and see the original version. The post would also highlight when the post was edited.

Of course, editing grammar is far from the most concerning use of editing posts on X. While editing posts is a novel feature for paid users, it also opens up the possibility of misinformation being spread. Bad faith users could publish a post saying one thing and derive a ton of reactions and responses only to change it afterwards. Without any recognizable paper trail, this opens up the possibility of abuse on the platform.

Earlier this year, X also introduced the ability to edit a DM. Each DM can be edited up to five times and will show if a message has been edited. As of the time of writing, it doesn’t appear as though there have been any changes made to this system.