Skip to main content

Twitter now testing a ‘buy’ button that lets you purchase stuff in a few taps

Twitter announced on Monday it’s now testing a buy button in tweets, allowing users to make purchases in just a few taps. Impulse shoppers, beware.

The announcement was expected, though admittedly it’s taken a while. Back in February, screenshots showing a buy button landed on the Web, while last month it emerged the social media company had done a deal with payments startup Stripe to help integrate the button into its service.

Recommended Videos

Twitter said the new buy button will initially show up for only a small percentage of US-based users, though its use will expand over time.twitter buy button

“This is an early step in our building functionality into Twitter to make shopping from mobile devices convenient and easy, hopefully even fun,” Twitter’s Tarun Jain said in a blog post, adding, “Users will get access to offers and merchandise they can’t get anywhere else and can act on them right in the Twitter apps for Android and iOS.”

Jain said that for sellers the new feature will help “to turn the direct relationship they build with their followers into sales.”

Besides Stripe, Twitter is also working with a number of e-commerce services, namely Fancy, Gumroad, and Musictoday, to help build the platform. Twenty-eight sellers – a mix of brands, artists and non-profit organizations that includes Burberry, Eminem, and (RED) – are involved in the test phase.

You’ll see the buy button if you follow one of the merchants taking part in the test phase, or if a promoted tweet lands on your timeline.

When you see the buy button alongside a product you’d like to purchase, tapping it will bring up more information on the item, as well as a prompt to enter your shipping and payment details. Fill those out, confirm your order, and you’re all set.

Related: Twitter opens its stats dashboard to all users

With online security at the forefront of many people’s minds just now, Twitter is keen to reassure users that their data is safe with the company.

“Your payment and shipping information is encrypted and safely stored after your first transaction, so you can easily buy on Twitter in the future without having to re-enter all of your information,” Jain explained, adding that credit card information is processed securely and won’t be shared with the seller without a buyer’s permission.

With Twitter likely taking a cut of sales made through its service, the San Francisco-based company will be keen to roll out the new button on a wider scale and bring many more merchants on board before the holiday season gets underway. It could also help to boost Twitter’s ad revenue if companies are tempted by the idea of selling through tweets.

Twitter isn’t the only social media giant looking to boost revenue through e-commerce initiatives. Facebook, for example, is also testing a buy button for its own service.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
The 5 biggest takeaways from Google’s Android 16 reveal
Google's Android Show banner.

Android 16 is coming this year, and Google has spent some time telling us all about the top features and changes we’ll see in it. To ensure you’re fully prepared for its arrival, here are the top five biggest takeaways from the grand reveal. 

Discover Material 3 Expressive design

Read more
Google’s latest Android tools will protect you from a wider range of scams
Scam alert on Android phones.

Over the past few years, Google has released a host of safeguards for calls, messages, and web browsing that increasingly use AI to protect smartphone users from scams. Ahead of the I/O 2025 developers conference, Google has now detailed the next wave of safety features coming to Android devices this year. 

Bad actors often trick users into disabling the built-in safeguards, such as Google Play Protect, sideloading malware apps, and enabling permissions that allow data theft. Google says the next-gen safety features in Android will aim to negate these attacks. 

Read more
Google is putting Gemini on your wrist and more screens around you
Google Gemin on a smartwatch.

Google has just announced that the Gemini AI stack is coming to your Wear OS smartwatch, and a bunch of other screens in your life, such as your car’s infotainment dashboard and smart TV. With the move, the company is bringing down the curtain on Google Assistant across its device ecosystem. 

Gemini is already a part of the core Android experience, deeply integrated across the Workspace ecosystem of apps and even third-party platforms such as WhatsApp and Spotify. With Gemini making its way to Wear OS, Android Auto, and TV, users will have a more seamless experience and a wider variety of screens to get work done.

Read more