Twitter, now called X, is a superpower among social media platforms. There are millions of users on the platform per time, performing several activities. So, it takes a powerful system and servers to ensure the smooth running of the platform at all times. More than that, effective regulation has been pivotal to Twitter’s success. As part of the regulation, X administrators impose several Twitter limits to ensure system reliability.
On X, there are DM, post, reading, following, and other activity limits. The administrators impose these limits to reduce strains on the system to prevent downtime and errors. Some limits work with time, while others affect your entire account. Thus, this post discusses some common Twitter limitations you may encounter while browsing the platform.
What Is the Twitter Character Limit for Posts on Your Account?
Twitter’s earliest and most effective selling point was its function as a microblogging platform. The platform allowed users to share their thoughts and opinions as tweets on their timelines. However, as a micro-blog, tweets have length limits; that is the Twitter character limit. X does not limit your word count but limits the characters to encourage conciseness.
From inception, Twitter, now X, imposed a 280-character limit for each tweet. The characters here include spaces between words. This Twitter limitation has endured until data. However, Twitter recently expanded the limit for verified users earlier this year. Now, Twitter Blue subscribers can post tweets containing up to 25,000 characters! For unverified accounts, the limit remains 280 characters.
Besides the character limit, Twitter also imposes limits on the amount of tweets you can post. For all X account types, the limit is 2,400 posts daily. However, this limit further breaks into smaller limitations for semi-hourly intervals. So, while you can post 2,400 tweets daily, you can post them simultaneously. You must spread them evenly across the day. Remember, Twitter counts retweets as tweets when enforcing this limitation.
Some tweeps have complained about the excessiveness of the 25,000-character limit. They argue that tweet brevity attracts users to the platform. However, some rejoice at this new development as it allows them to express themselves better. If you want to enjoy this extended character limit, get a premium X subscription. Alternatively, you can use tweet threads, with regular character limits for each tweet, to express yourself exhaustively.
Twitter DM Limit: Are There X Limits for Direct Messages?
As a social media platform, Twitter is more popular for public conversations. You post a tweet, someone comments, others reply, and so it goes on. Other times, some may retweet or quote your tweet, providing new audiences for engagement. However, Twitter also provides a direct messaging feature on the platform.
Twitter DMs allow individuals and businesses to send personal messages to others on the platform. However, to send someone a direct message on X, the person must follow you. So, accounts with more followers enjoy this feature more on the platform. However, you can change your account settings to allow DMs from anyone or from verified users to enjoy DMs more.
Additionally, you can have multiple DM conversations simultaneously on your X account. But there’s a Twitter DM limit regulating how many messages you can send out daily. After sending 500 direct messages, you cannot send more DMs from your account that day. Twitter will not notify you when you exceed this limit. Instead, you’ll enter a figurative “Twitter Jail” until the next day.
Unfortunately, Twitter only imposes this limit on unverified accounts, even if they have protected accounts. So, to enjoy Direct Messaging on Twitter, you must pay for the blue verified badge. Nevertheless, you can still receive messages on your account after exceeding the DM limit. But you’ll be unable to reply to them.
Is There a Twitter Follow Limit? How Many Accounts Can I Follow on X
Your Twitter follower count is an important metric for measuring growth on the platform. But one effective way to increase your follower count is following more people. However, when applying this strategy, tweeps wonder about the Twitter follow limit. So, what should you know?
Twitter does not limit accounts you can follow but the rate at which you follow accounts on the platform. So, there is a daily follow limit on the X platform. Previously, you could follow 1,000 accounts daily. However, since April 2019, Twitter further limited it to 400 accounts daily.
Besides this daily follow limit, there’s a certain account limit imposed to ensure a healthy follow-to-following ratio. So, after following 5,000 accounts, you’ll notice an error preventing you from following more accounts. Twitter will only allow you to follow more accounts when your follower count increases.
Unfortunately, Twitter does not publicize the required ratio, but Twitter’s algorithm strictly follows the set ratio. Therefore, if you want to expand your X contact, don’t just keep following others; get them to follow you, too. But why the follow limit on X?
Twitter imposes this limit to combat bot accounts and spam activities. An ideal X user would not follow others but seek followers, too. Conversely, bot and spam accounts will follow as many accounts as possible and keep engaging them. Moreover, the uncontrolled activities of bots on X will weigh heavily on the system, leading to possible downtime.
Twitter Video Size Limits: How Can I Upload Large Videos on X?
Blogs and even microblogs no longer hold the audience’s attention as they used to. That is why videos are now popular on social media. This audio-visual information tool is very effective for the contemporary audience. In fact, tweeps now post and watch billions of videos daily. It has become an efficient tool for driving successful X business campaigns.
If you’re looking to adopt using videos in your X campaigns, there are a few things you must remember. Important among these are the length and Twitter video size limits. When uploading videos on X, the video must not exceed 512MB. That is the current X video size limit for unverified tweeps. If your video exceeds this size, you’ll receive an error message notifying you that the video is too large.
While watching your video size, it is also important to consider the length. Twitter only allows unverified users to upload videos no longer than 140 seconds, even when within the size limit. Nevertheless, these limits do not affect Twitter Blue subscribers. They enjoy a wider degree of freedom with expanded limits. For example, they can post larger videos up to 8GB and longer videos with 2 hours as their limit. However, the limit is stronger for Android subscribers who can’t post videos longer than 10 minutes.
Still, other video limits apply equally to both account types. These include:
Video Feature | Limits |
| Minimum Duration | 0.5 seconds |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 or 1:1 |
| Frame Rate | 60 FPS or lower |
What Are the Twitter Reading Limits for Each X Account Type?
Remember when you could view Twitter without an account on the web version? Well, that is no longer possible since Elon Musk introduced Twitter reading limits. These read limits control the number of tweets users can read on the platform daily.
After several adjustments, Twitter now implements standard limits for three categories of accounts. For verified users, the read limit is 10,000 tweets daily. Unverified users can only read 1,000 tweets daily, while new unverified users can only read 500 tweets each day.
Social media platforms thrive when users engage them more, so you may wonder why X imposes reading limits. Some tweeps even consider this Twitter’s breaking point and a rule that will discourage users. But Twitter’s former CEO and new owner, Elon Musk, explains the need for rule implementation.
In a tweet, he explained that read limits are a measure to combat data scraping and X system manipulation. That is quite reasonable, considering how much information users share on the platform. If allowed, bots and spam accounts can scrape data endlessly on the platform to the system’s detriment.
What Does the Twitter Rate Limit Exceeded Message Mean?
There was no prior announcement when Twitter began implementing reading limits. As a result, the error message confused and frustrated many users. Moreover, the earlier read limits were stricter, so users could barely navigate tweets freely. Now, Twitter has extended the read limits but still notifies users who exceed these temporary limits.
When you see the error message “Twitter rate limit exceeded,” this means you’ve exceeded your daily read limit. After this message appears, you’ll be unable to see more tweets on the platform that day. You’ll enter a figurative Twitter jail until a new day. However, this is not a Twitter suspension.
After exceeding your Twitter read limit, you can still perform every other activity on the platform. For example, you can comment on older tweets and send replies to your comments. You can also send and receive direct messages, join Twitter spaces, or discuss in Twitter communities.
It can be frustrating to exceed your X reading limits and be unable to read new tweets. You may even wish these limits did not exist. However, Twitter implements them for your data and privacy safety. Moreover, it allows you to explore other interesting features of the X platform.
Is There a Twitter Age Limit? How Old Should I Be To Use Twitter?
Twitter significantly differs from other social media platforms. Many love it for the freedom it affords users to express themselves. Thus, it may be a place for children. Kids who hear about the fun and excitement on the platform may wonder whether they can have a part.
Appropriately, age is one of Twitter’s few prerequisites for opening an account on the platform. Due to the adult content circulated on the platform, there is a Twitter age limit imposed on users. You must be 13 years or older to register an account on the X platform.
Unfortunately, Twitter does not bother to verify the age of their users. But if they discover an underage user, they immediately disable the account. However, you can restore such an account when you reach the minimum required age. In fact, Twitter sends you a prompt when your account qualifies for reactivation. You just need to follow the prompts and reactivate your account.
Since Twitter doesn’t verify age on accounts, many users lie about their age on the platform. But this is not the best way to override this rule. Twitter can easily discover your account when verifying your age before viewing sensitive content. Nevertheless, you can override the X age limit through parental consent. Your parents can open your X account with a parental consent form to allow you on Twitter despite your age.
Is There Any Penalty for Exceeding Twitter Limits?
Twitter administrators are quite strict when enforcing limits on the platform. It is important because it affects the smooth functionality and, sometimes, the safety of other users. So, when you exceed Twitter limitations, they’ll penalize you mildly.
Sometimes, Twitter only restricts your account from certain actions relating to the exceeded limits. For example, when you exceed the video size limit, they’ll prevent you from uploading the video until you trim it. The case is different, though, with time-bound limits. When you exceed such limits, you only need to wait out the time before resuming that specific action.
Nevertheless, X will only restrict your account completely or suspend your account when you repeatedly infringe certain Twitter limits. However, it helps to clean and maintain your account and keep an online schedule.
TweetEraser is an excellent Twitter management tool you can explore. It helps with tweet deletion and import into your X archive. With this tool, you can erase or import your timeline with a single click. TweetEraser will keep your timeline clean and attractive to prospective followers. So, start filtering and cleaning your Twitter timeline today!
