Twitter may be adding voice effects to Spaces

Twitter may be adding voice effects to its audio chat platform Spaces, a post from Twitter sleuth Jane Manchum Wong suggests. Wong tweeted that her research found Twitter is working on something called Voice Transformer, that will allow users to change their voice pitch or add echo effects.

Twitter began rolling out Spaces in its iOS app to a limited group of people in June 2020. It added an Android app in March and a desktop version in April (which Wong also predicted).

Sound effects may sound like a minor feature, but it could make the app more accessible. The pitch control in particular could prove hugely useful to people who are self-conscious about how their voices sound in online forums, and for women subjected to voice-related harassment or who deal with the over-policing of their vocal styles. And for people who prefer to remain anonymous on Twitter, this could be a way to disguise their voices but still participate in Spaces.

Twitter didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment Thursday, but Wong’s research is typically solid. For instance, she predicted Twitter’s Tip Jar as well as Twitter Blue, its subscription service, ahead of their official launches.