Twitter Launches Invite-Only Communities to Compete With Facebook Groups

Twitter today announced the launch of a new "Communities" feature that's meant to take on Facebook's popular Groups by providing a space where people can share discussions on a specific topic.

twitter communities
An invite-only feature at the current time, Communities are created by Twitter users and are self-moderated. Community creators who are invited by Twitter to participate can invite an unlimited number of users to their group.

Members of a Community will see a new option to choose an audience in the tweet composer, allowing them to tweet to all of their followers or just to those followers who participate in the Community.

Communities are invite-only (also for now!) but admins and moderators have unlimited invites and members have 5 invites per Community (again, for now!) that are sent via DM so choose wisely (3/7) pic.twitter.com/KTDnmhOB8T — Twitter Communities (@JoinCommunities) September 8, 2021

Tweets shared to a Community will show up in the Community and in the timelines of other members of the group. Communities are not private and can be viewed by others on Twitter, but only members can participate.

On iOS devices, Communities can be accessed through the navigation bar, and on the web, there's a Communities option on the sidebar.

Starting today, there are a handful of Communities available such as #DogTwitter and #SkinCareTwitter, but Twitter is planning for more to be created each week and those interested in starting a Community can apply on the Twitter website.

Related Stories

Twitter Blue Subscription Service Expands to the United States and New Zealand

Tuesday November 9, 2021 9:20 am PST by Juli Clover

Twitter Blue, Twitter's subscription service, is today launching in the United States and New Zealand after launching in Canada earlier this year. Available for $2.99 per month in the U.S., Twitter Blue adds additional features to Twitter. Since Twitter Blue's June debut, Twitter has been introducing new functionality, and a rundown of what you get for that $2.99 subscription price is below. ...

Google Executive Wants to Help Apple Make Texts Between Android and iPhone Users More Secure

Friday October 8, 2021 2:03 am PDT by Sami Fathi

A Google executive is extending an open hand to help Apple adopt RCS, a new communication protocol called Rich Communication Services to iPhone and iPad, that would replace standard SMS and offer improved cross-platform messaging capabilities. In a tweet, Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google's senior vice president of Android, said that "group chats don't need to break this way," referring to a...

iOS 15.2 Beta Adds Messages Communication Safety Feature for Kids

Tuesday November 9, 2021 10:07 am PST by Juli Clover

Apple over the summer announced new Child Safety features that are aimed at keeping children safer online. Apple has confirmed that one of those features, Communication Safety in Messages, has been enabled in the second beta of iOS 15.2 that was released today, after hints of it appeared in the first beta. Note that Communication Safety is not the same as the controversial anti-CSAM feature that...

Twitter on iOS Now Lets You Easily Search For Tweets From Specific Accounts

Friday November 5, 2021 2:45 am PDT by Sami Fathi

Twitter on iOS is now rolling out the ability for users to more easily search for tweets from a specific account, using a new search field that appears on an account's page. The feature, which was first spotted on Twitter, offers users a much easier way to search for tweets from a specific user. While the ability was previously possible using the standard Twitter search field, the new search ...

Twitter Investigating Bug Causing Unexpected Logouts on iOS 15

Wednesday November 24, 2021 9:28 am PST by Sami Fathi

Twitter Support has acknowledged a bug causing unexpected account logouts on iOS 15, promising that its teams are working on a fix and that it'll keep users updated on when it's resolved. Posts on Twitter over the last several hours have shown users experiencing the bug, with some sharing frustrations that the app is requiring them to log back into Twitter upon every app launch. While some...

Code for Apple's Communication Safety Feature for Kids Found in iOS 15.2 Beta [Updated]

Wednesday October 27, 2021 1:04 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Update: We've learned from Apple that the Communication Safety code found in the first iOS 15.2 beta is not a feature in that update and Apple does not plan to release the feature as it is described in the article. Apple this summer announced new Child Safety Features that are designed to keep children safer online. One of those features, Communication Safety, appears to be included in the...

Recorded Twitter Spaces Now Available for All iOS, Android, and Web Users

Twitter has rolled out playback of recorded Spaces to all iOS, Android, and web users, the company today announced. The ability to listen to a recording of a Twitter Space is now available to all users, making the company's live discussion rooms work more like traditional podcasts. Users can only listen back to Spaces that hosts have actively selected to be recorded. Some hosts on Android ...

Popular Stories

Apple Allegedly Preparing for iPhones Without SIM Card Slot by September 2022 [Updated]

Sunday December 26, 2021 8:13 pm PST by Joe Rossignol

Earlier this week, a rumor from Brazilian website Blog do iPhone claimed that iPhone 15 Pro models might not have a physical SIM card slot in at least some countries and regions, but the change might happen even sooner. Image: iFixit An anonymous tipster informed MacRumors that Apple has advised major U.S. carriers to prepare for the launch of eSIM-only smartphones by September 2022. The...

Some Apple Engineers Rewarded Up to $180K in Stock Bonuses as Incentive to Stay

Tuesday December 28, 2021 11:53 am PST by Juli Clover

Apple is providing stock bonuses to some engineers in order to prevent them from moving on to companies like Meta, reports Bloomberg. Last week, select engineers in silicon design, hardware, software, and operations were informed that they would be receiving a $50,000 to $180,000 stock bonus, which Bloomberg says is "unusual and significant." Most engineers received stock worth $80,000 to...

Apple Bringing Its Custom Silicon to an Unexpected Device

Apple is planning to bring its custom silicon chips to the Pro Display XDR, a recent report has suggested. The leaker known as "Dylandkt," who has a mostly accurate track record with Apple-related rumors, recently claimed that LG is developing a 32-inch display panel for a new Pro Display XDR featuring an unspecified Apple silicon chip. Apple's custom silicon SoCs, such as the S7, A15...

What to Buy With the Apple Gift Card You Unwrapped

Sunday December 26, 2021 1:00 pm PST by Joe Rossignol

Apple gift cards are always a popular gift for Christmas and other holidays. If you unwrapped one this year, we've put together a list of 23 ways to spend it, with all of the ideas for what to buy costing under $100 in the United States. Keep in mind that Apple used to offer two separate gift cards, including an Apple Store gift card for in-store products and an iTunes gift card for...

Apple to Offer Limited-Edition AirTag as Part of Japanese New Year Promotion

Monday December 27, 2021 1:33 pm PST by Joe Rossignol

In celebration of the Japanese New Year, Apple has revealed a two-day promotion that will offer customers in Japan a free Apple gift card worth up to ¥24,000 with the purchase of an eligible Apple product on January 2 and January 3. In addition to a gift card, Apple said the first 20,000 customers in Japan who purchase a new iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, or iPhone SE during the promotion will...