Twitter removes 140 character limit on DMs

Twitter will make it possible in July to send personal messages that consist of more than 140 characters. The limit remains in effect for regular tweets. The announcement comes as Twitter CEO Dick Costolo is stepping down from his post.

According to Twitter, the removal of the 140-character limit is the first step in a series of improvements for direct messages. The microblogging service warns developers to update their apps and adjust the user interface to the longer DM texts. With the change, Twitter is putting more emphasis on personal communication. The basis of the service, 140 character public messages, remains unchanged.

At the same time, Twitter reports that its director, Dick Costolo, has resigned from his position. The CEO has been under fire for some time because Twitter has failed to grow the number of users significantly. The service’s founder, Jack Dorsey, is temporarily taking over his position. In Costolo’s wake, another CEO of the company, Ali Rowghani, is also leaving, possibly after a conflict with Costolo. The head of the American media department is also leaving, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The struggles may have to do with Twitter’s lack of growth. Because the service is no longer growing, the share on the stock market has already fallen by 42 percent this year, which put pressure on the management.