Twitter Launches Bigger Images, Cropping Control On iOS, Android

Twitter has rolled out bigger images and cropping control that allows images to display in full without any cropping on iOS and Android.

Standard aspect ratio images (16:9 and 4:3) will now display in full without any cropping. Instead of gambling on how an image will show up in the timeline images will look just like they did when you shot them.

In March, Twitter rolled out a limited test of uncropped, larger images in users’ feeds. Now, it’s declared those tests a success and improved the image sharing experience for everybody.

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The new system will show users sharing an image a preview of what it will look like before it goes live in the timeline, resolving past concerns that Twitter’s algorithmic cropping was biased toward highlighting white faces.

“Today’s launch is a direct result of the feedback people shared with us last year that the way our algorithm cropped images wasn’t equitable,” Twitter spokesperson Lauren Alexander said.

The new way of presenting images decreases the platform’s reliance on automatic, machine-learning-based image cropping.

Images that are super tall or wide will still get centered crop, but Twitter says it’s working to make that better too, along with other aspects of how visual media gets displayed in the timeline.

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This is actually a pretty big deal for visual artists like photographers and cartoonists who promote their work on Twitter. Not only will photos and other kinds of art score more real estate on the timeline, but artists can be sure that they’re putting their best tweet forward without awkward crops messing stuff up.