After a successful test run in Canada, Twitter will let users in the US and Japan hide replies.
Twitter knows that distracting, irrelevant, and offensive comments can quickly derail important discussions.
So the social network in July rolled out an option to hide replies.
Anyone can still see and engage with the sequestered statements by tapping the grey icon. But
“We want to be clear and transparent when someone has made the decision to hide a reply,” senior product manager Michelle Yasmeen Haq and product designer Brittany Forks wrote in a summer announcement.
“[We] will be looking at how this feature gives more control to authors while not compromising the transparency and openness that is central to what makes Twitter so powerful,” they said.
Nearly three months later, the pilot program is expanding to folks in Japan and the US.
“With this test, we want to understand how conversations on Twitter change if the person who starts a conversation can hide replies,” according to a company blog post.
Initial research suggests people typically hide replies they find irrelevant, abusive, or unintelligible (we’ve all been there…); most found it helpful, like muting keywords.
Some, however, worried that hiding a reply could be misunderstood, potentially leading to confusion or frustration. So, Twitter now checks in with users to see if they also want to block that account.
A digital slap on the wrist, this new function appears to have a positive effect on the community: An impressive 27 percent of people who had their tweets hidden said they would reconsider how they interact with others in the future.
“These are positive and heartening results,” Twitter said. “The feature helped people have better conversations, and was a useful tool against replies that deterred from the person’s original intent.
“We’re interested to see if these trends continue, and if new ones emerge, as we expand our test to Japan and the US,” the blog continued. “People in these markets use Twitter in many unique ways, and we’re excited to see how they might use this new tool.”
The social media giant last month began testing a subscribe-to-replies option—currently available to reviewers on iOS and Android.
And over the summer, Twitter unveiled a new feature that hides (but doesn’t block) politicians’ abusive posts.
A new “notice”—a sort of warning screen users must click through before seeing a tweet—applies only to verified government officials with more than 100,000 followers.
(Donald Trump’s personal and professional accounts both qualify.)
Twitter employees determine what content is a matter of public interest, based on certain considerations: including the immediacy and severity of potential harm, and whether the tweet provides unique context or perspective necessary to broader discussion.
Concealed posts also will not feature as top tweets on a user’s timeline, or in “safe search” results, “recommended tweet” push notifications, or the Explore page.
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