Twitter is rolling out Voice Tweets, a new feature that allows users to share voice snippets with their followers. For now, voice tweets are only available to a "limited group" of iOS app users and will be available to all iOS users in the coming weeks.

Twitter announced the new feature on Wednesday. In a blog post, the company said, "280 characters is not enough, and nuances of conversation can get lost in translation. So starting today, we are testing a new feature that will add a human touch to the way you use Twitter.

The new feature allows users to record up to 140 seconds of speech and send it just like any other tweet. If a user speaks for more than 140 seconds, a new voice tweet is automatically recorded and a thread is created.

Their followers can see the voice tweet on their timeline along with other text, photo, and video tweets. To listen, they simply tap on the image. on iOS, a playback bar is docked below the timeline so they can scroll through.

Audio can only be added to the original tweet, not to replies or retweets. Also note that Twitter will always use the current profile picture as a static image with the voice attached, and will not update if the profile picture is updated.

While Twitter seems to acknowledge the growing popularity of podcasts with audio tweets, Twitter does not intend for this feature to replace podcasts, as there is a cap (25) on the number of audio tweets that can be threaded It appears to be.

Some users of this new feature include celebrities who have already jumped on the audio wagon. John Legend used audio tweets to post a 35-second preview of "U Move, I Move," a song from his upcoming album Bigger Love.

Jimmy Fallon used it to promote his guest lineup for The Tonight Show:

Cardi B had a little fun trying out this new feature:

If you are a partial Twitter user on iOS, the audio tweet If you have access to the feature, here's how to use it:

One big question surrounding the new voice tweet feature is the potential for abuse. Despite automated tools, Twitter already faces the challenge of flagging text tweets. Because content moderators need to hear every audio tweet that is flagged, eliminating harassment and abuse of audio tweets is a whole other ballgame.

Another issue is accessibility; when The Verge asked Twitter about making voice tweets available to the hearing impaired, a company spokesperson told the site, "This is an early test of voice for us, and we're We are exploring how best to meet the needs of people with different abilities."