Twitter announced the new "heart" icon to replace the "star" icon that signified "favorited" tweets, according to CBS News. What were once known as "favorites" are also now known as "likes."
Akarshan Kumar, Twitter's product manager, blogged about the new icon, saying that "we are changing our star icon for 'favorites' to a heart and we'll be calling them 'likes.'"
He explained the change was due to seeing Periscope users embrace the hearts on Twitter's live video streaming app, CBS News reported.
Twitter has 320 million users, CNET noted. The users have the option to "favorite" tweets, but "not everything can be your favorite." Kumar noted that the star could be confusing to newcomers.
"The heart, in contrast, is a universal symbol that resonates across languages, cultures, and time zones," Kumar said. "The heart is more expressive, enabling you to convey a range of emotions and easily connect with people."
