Twitter Testing a Snapchat-Like 'News Camera' Feature on iOS: Report

Micro-blogging site Twitter has reportedly been developing a "News Camera" functionality that would allow users to add captions to photos, videos and live broadcasts - Snapchat-style.

"Twitter's new Snapchat-style camera, codenamed 'News Camera' is coming soon! Posts created by the 'News Camera' will be called 'Moments'," tipster Jane Manchun Wong tweeted on Friday.

The micro-blogging site removed its original "Moments" feature from its Android and iOS apps in October 2018.

As tested, users would have to swipe left from the home screen of the app to launch the "News Camera" feature on Twitter.

"I can confirm that we're working on an easier way to share thing like images and videos on Twitter. What you're seeing is in mid-development so it's tough to comment on what things will look like in the final stage. The team is still actively working on what we'll actually end up shipping," CNET quoted a Twitter spokesperson as saying.

Twitter seems to have been testing the new feature on iOS first.

"Twitter has been particularly careful about not leaking 'News Camera' on Android, but someone else on iOS have access to the feature," Wong said.

The public availability of the "News Camera" feature - that was spotted earlier in February by social media consultant Matt Navarra - remains unknown.

According to CNET, Navarra also noted other potential new features, including a (darker) dark mode, encrypted direct messages, an automatic night mode, a way to undock the composition button, redesigned side menu and a way to react with GIFs among others.

Recently, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had said the micro-blogging platform is considering a "clarify" feature for its over 330 million users.

At a Goldman Sachs event in San Francisco on Thursday, Dorsey noted he is considering a "clarify" feature that would allow users to add additional context to a tweet without changing the original content, 9to5Mac.com reported.

"One of the concepts we're thinking about is clarifications… Kind of like retweet with comment… to add some context and some colour on what they might have tweeted, or what they might have meant," Dorsey told the audience.

"By doing so you might imagine that the original tweet then would not have the sort of engagement around it. Like you wouldn't be able to retweet the original tweet, for instance," he added.