What Is Retweet? (RT)

Like a Tweet? Retweet! Sometimes you come across a Tweet that you just have to share.

  • Twitter's Retweet feature helps you and others quickly share that Tweet with all of your followers.
  • Sometimes users type RT at the beginning of a Tweet to indicate that they're posting a Retweet. 

How to Retweet:

  1. Hover over a Tweet
  2. Click the Retweet link, highlighted below
  3. The Tweet will then be shared with all of your followers

Where to Find Retweets:

Retweets made by other people

  • As shown in the photo above, you can see Retweets your followers have made in your timeline.  
  • They look like regular Tweets, but they have the Retweeted by text and icon at the bottom of the Tweet to let you know they're not just any old Tweet!

Retweets you've made

  • Any Retweet you've made will be visible on your Home timeline.

To see which of your Tweets others have Retweeted:

  • From the top navigation bar, click Connect.
  • This will take you to your Interactions section.  Here you will see all activity concerning your Tweets - including which have recently been Retweeted! (see image below)

Note: Please note that Retweets, like regular Tweets, will not show up from people you've blocked.

Disabling Retweets:

If a particular account that you follow retweets updates that you don’t want to see in your home timeline, just visit their profile to turn off Retweets from them. Here’s how:

  1. Open a user’s mini-profile by clicking their username anywhere on Twitter, or go to their full profile at http://www.twitter.com/[usernamegoeshere]
  2. Next to the Following button, click the grey person icon as shown below. 
  •  
    • If you click Turn off Retweets anything that person retweets won’t show up in your timeline.
    • To turn their Retweets back on, simply click the grey person icon again, and click Turn on Retweets.

Keep in mind:

  • If you see a new face in your timeline, it's because someone you follow retweeted something they thought you should see. 
    • In the message, you’ll see the picture and username of the original user, who was retweeted by someone you follow. 
    • Turn off Retweets for that person if you don’t like what they share.
  • Turning Retweets on or off is NOT retroactive, meaning that you can choose not to receive future Retweets from someone, but you can't remove Retweets you've already received from your Timeline.

Recognizing Retweets in Timelines and Profiles

  • Retweets in all timelines and profiles are distinguished by the Retweet icon Screen_shot_2010-07-21_at_2.42.25_PM.png followed by the name of the user who retweeted the Tweet.
  • To credit a Tweet's author, Retweets show the profile picture, user name, and Tweet of the original author, with Retweeted by information appended at bottom.
  • If you see a message from a stranger in your timeline, look for the Retweet icon – the retweeter should be someone you follow.

Here's an example of a Retweet that appears on the profile page of the user @lamps.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

People often wonder:

  1. Can I turn off ALL Retweets? Nope! You can unfollow a user who retweets things you don't like, but you can't turn off Retweets completely.
  2. When people visit my profile, can they view my Retweets in a tab, like favorites? Nope. People can view the Retweets posted in your profile by scrolling through the your Tweets and looking for the ones with Retweet icons. 
  3. What if I retweet from apps like UberTwitter, Echofon, etc? Retweets, like regular Tweets, will appear differently in different applications. All Retweets from third party apps (like UberSocial and Echofon) will show up in your timeline IF they're using Twitter's Retweet API. (Not sure? Try retweeting from your favorite app, and then check your profile on the web.) Many apps have built in their own version of retweeting; Retweets sent from apps that don't use the official feature will not appear in your Retweet tab.
  4. Are there limits on Retweets? There's no limit to the number of times a Tweet can be retweeted, but Twitter will only show the most recent 100 people who retweeted any public tweet.
  5. How do I delete a Retweet? You can undo a Retweet you've made by clicking the Undo Retweet link near the Tweet's actions, as shown below:

Having Trouble?

Check out this Troubleshooting article for solutions to common problems with Retweets.

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