How Do I Edit a Tweet After It's Published?

Better proof your tweet before you post it

by
Susan Gunelius
Writer
Former Lifewire writer Susan Gunelius is a marketing communications specialist who writes about branding through blogs.
our editorial process
Susan Gunelius
Updated on December 05, 2019

We've all done it—notice a glaring error in an online post just as our finger presses the Enter key. In some cases, such as with status posts on Facebook, you can pull up the post and edit it in place. Twitter does not have a provision for editing a tweet, however. 

Once you publish a Twitter update (called a tweet), there is no way to edit it. Your only options are to delete it entirely or to copy the offending tweet before deleting it and then repost a revised version of the tweet.

Person panicking over a misspelled Tweet they just posted
Lifewire / Lisa Fasol

How to Delete a Tweet

Here's how to delete a tweet:

  1. Log in to your Twitter account and go to your tweet stream.

  2. Locate the tweet you want to delete.

  3. Click the arrow located to the right of the tweet to bring up a drop-down menu of actions.

  4. Click Delete Tweet.

    Deleting a tweet on Twitter
    Susan Gunelius  

  5. Click Delete in the confirmation screen

How to Post a Revised Tweet

To post a revised tweet:

  1. Log in to your Twitter account and go to your tweet stream.

  2. Click on the tweet you are doing to delete and then revise to open it in a window.

  3. Highlight the content of the tweet using your mouse.

    Highlighted text in a tweet to revise
     Susan Gunelius 

  4. Use the keyboard shortcut Command + C on a Mac or Ctrl + C on a PC to copy the tweet.

  5. Click the arrow to the right of the tweet.

  6. Select Delete Tweet from the drop-down menu.

  7. Click Delete in the confirmation screen.

  8. Paste the copied tweet into the What's happening field on Twitter using the keyboard shortcut Command + V on a Mac or Ctrl + V on a PC.

  9. Make the edits or corrections to the tweet.

    Editing a tweet on Twitter web page
     Susan Gunelius 

  10. Click the Tweet button to post the revised tweet. 

Now the tweet with the error is gone, and the edited tweet is on Twitter. The only downside is that the new tweet does not appear in the same chronological position it was in before. However, if you discover the error as soon as you post and replace the tweet promptly, the slight time difference won't matter.