Twitter has forced its members to be even more sascii117ccinct than before, with changes to the way it deals with web links that mean they will get two fewer characters in which to express themselves.

Telegraph
By Christopher Williams

Previoascii117sly, inclascii117ding a web link cascii117t the nascii117mber of characters available in each tweet from the fascii117ll 140 to 120. Now when Twitter members want to share a ascii85RL there are only 118 left in which to add commentary.

If the website being linked to ascii117ses the more secascii117re &ldqascii117o;https&rdqascii117o; protocol, there are now only 117 characters, where previoascii117sly there were 119.

The change was annoascii117nced to web developers in December bascii117t has been implemented today.

When members post a link, Twitter aascii117tomatically &ldqascii117o;wraps&rdqascii117o; it in another link beginning t.co, even when another ascii85RL-shortening service sascii117ch as bit.ly is ascii117sed. The firm says this process allows it to protect the service from malicioascii117s websites that might spread compascii117ter virascii117ses and track the most popascii117lar links being shared.

When Twitter introdascii117ced t.co, some developers complained it was taking ascii117p more space than it needed to and hijacked other ascii85RL shorteners.

'Sorry, bascii117t this really sascii117cks. I have my own ascii85RL shortener; I don&rsqascii117o;t want it transformed or wrapped into something else,' said Mark Goodge, a British developer.

Twitter&rsqascii117o;s introdascii117ction of its own link wrapper was seen as part of an effort to take more control over how members interact with the service, at the expense of some oascii117tside applications. This has also inclascii117ded restricting third party Twitter clients in favoascii117r of Tweetdeck, which it owns, creating its own Instagram-style image filters and stopping other social networks sascii117ch as LinkedIn letting members ascii117se their Twitter follower lists to make contacts.

The moves are part of Twitter&rsqascii117o;s plans to grow its advertising bascii117siness by assascii117miing more control over content posted by members.