After testing the feature for the last few months, Twitter is now rolling out the ability to hide replies to all users around the world.
To give its users more control over conversations and help them feel more “safe and comfortable” while talking on its platform, Twitter is looking to change the way that conversations work.
Up until now, those who replied to Tweets could “shift the topic or tone of a discussion and derail what you and your audience want to talk about,” explains Suzanne Xie, a Twitter product manager. To change this, Twitter tested the ability to hide replies to Tweets. The feature is now being made available to all users globally.
It’s a simple, yet effective solution, as anyone can choose to hide replies to their Tweets, and everyone can see and engage with hidden replies. All they have to do to do so is tap the gray icon that appears on the Tweets with hidden replies. This way, those users who begin conversations have more control over them, without actually limiting the discussion.
During its tests with the feature, according to Xie, Twitter found out the following:
- People mostly hide replies they think are irrelevant, off-topic, or annoying.
- The option is a new way to shut out noise; 85% of the people who hide replies are not using block or mute.
- People were curious to see how public figures like those in politics and journalism would use this update. So far, they aren’t hiding replies very often.
- In Canada, 27% of people who had their Tweets hidden said they would reconsider how they interact with others in the future. Also, they thought it was a helpful way to manage what they saw, similar to muted keywords.
- We learned that you may want to take further action after you hide a reply, so now we’ll check to see if you want to also block the replier.
- Some people mentioned that they didn’t want to hide replies due to fear of retaliation as the icon remains visible. We’ll continue to get feedback on this.
As a continuation of the above, Twitter is now working on new controls and ways to provide much more clarity around its conversation rules. As such, it will also be launching a new hide replies endpoint so that developers can also build more conversation management tools.
Finally, Xie explains that Twitter is “exploring more options around who can reply to or see specific conversations,” and is “testing engagement changes to see if these lead to healthier discussions.”
You might also like
More from Twitter
Elon Musk Set To Relaunch Twitter Blue On November 29
Twitter Blue, the $7.99 service that gave people access to the blue checkmark is set to relaunch at the end …
Elon Musk Is Really Buying Twitter This Time
It's the end of a wild story: Elon Musk's $44 billion Twitter deal is actually happening.On Tuesday, representatives of Elon …
Twitter Is Rolling Out Editable Tweets, For Real
This time it's for real: Twitter is rolling out editable tweets. There is a catch though: you will have to …
Twitter Shareholders Vote To Approve $44 Billion Elon Musk Buyout
A large majority of Twitter shareholders approved the buyout, now Musk wants to fight his way out of it.Elon Musk …
Twitter Is Testing An Edit Tweet Feature
Twitter announced it's testing an 'Edit Tweet' feature that will give users the ability to edit their Tweets within 30 …
Twitter Introduces Super Follows Exclusive Spaces
Creators who are using Twitter’s Super Follows monetization option can now host Twitter Spaces, available exclusively to their subscribers.Twitter says …
Tweet Replies Ad Placement Now Available On All App Install Campaigns
Twitter is now allowing all advertisers to use its new Tweet replies ad placement, for app install ads, on iOS …
Twitter Tests Larger Product Displays With Twitter Shops
The new feature being tested with select US merchants will allow businesses to showcase up to 50 shoppable items on …