Why I built PostTruncate

I'm Anirudha — a solo developer from Assam, India. I built PostTruncate because my own LinkedIn posts kept collapsing behind "…see more" at exactly the wrong moment.

I looked for a tool that showed fold lines visually before publishing. Found nothing that actually worked the way I needed. So I built one.

What started as a LinkedIn character counter grew into a full post preview simulator supporting 6 platforms, 10 languages, ad safe zones, SMS segment math, and one-tap AI rewriting.

This is what I learned.

Lesson 1: Every platform truncates differently

This is the core insight PostTruncate is built on.

Most people writing across platforms are completely guessing. They publish and hope for the best. PostTruncate eliminates that guessing entirely.

Lesson 2: Client-side is a feature, not a limitation

Every preview, every character count, every fold line marker runs entirely in the browser. No uploads. No server processing. No account required.

This was a deliberate choice — and it turned out to be one of the most appreciated features. "Your text never leaves your browser" is genuinely meaningful to people, not just a marketing line.

The only external call PostTruncate makes is the optional AI tone rewriting feature. Everything else is pure client-side.

Lesson 3: Edge cases are where the real value is

Basic character counting is easy. The edge cases are where PostTruncate actually earns its keep:

SMS encoding: Standard SMS uses GSM-7 — 160 characters per segment. One emoji switches the entire message to Unicode, dropping to 70 characters per segment. Most SMS tools ignore this. PostTruncate detects it automatically and updates the segment count live.

X thread splitting: When a draft exceeds 280 characters, PostTruncate breaks it into numbered thread posts at natural sentence boundaries. Never mid-word. Each card shows its character count and position in the thread.

Extended GSM characters: Characters like €, [, ], and | stay in GSM-7 mode but consume two character slots each. PostTruncate flags these so users understand why their message is segmenting unexpectedly.

Ad safe zones: For marketers running paid ads, PostTruncate overlays safe zones for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Google Responsive Search Ads — showing exactly where UI elements will cover text after publishing.

Lesson 4: Multilingual support compounds over time

Supporting 10 languages from early on — English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese, Danish — means organic traffic from non-English markets builds slowly but compounds significantly.

CJK scripts (Chinese, Japanese) require special handling since character count carries different semantic weight. PostTruncate handles these correctly, matching what each target platform actually sees.

Lesson 5: Start with one problem, let users guide the rest

PostTruncate started as a LinkedIn fold line checker.

It grew into:

• Platform guides for 6 major networks

• Ad preview tools for 4 ad platforms

• Additional counters for YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, Bluesky, Discord, WhatsApp

• Google SERP preview

• Emoji counter and invisible character detector

• Reading time and byte counter

• SMS segment calculator

• Embeddable widget for other sites

None of this was planned up front. Every addition came from a real problem — either mine or someone else's.

What's next

PostTruncate is free, solo-built, and pre-revenue. Current focus is on SEO and organic growth. The tool is available at:

👉 posttruncate.com

No login. No account. Works instantly in your browser.

If you're a developer, creator, or marketer writing across multiple platforms — try it and tell me what's missing. I read every message.