Twitter is finally rolling out a major new feature it teased earlier this year.
The microblogging platform announced Thursday that U.S. users will now be able to hide replies to their tweets. Twitter previously tested the feature in Canada.
If a user doesn’t want a reply to appear under their tweet, all they have to do is choose "Hide reply" from the drop-down menu on the upper right hand side of the reply.
Knowing there is likely a good reason (i.e. harassment) for hiding a reply, Twitter will also ask the user if they’d like to block the account.
When the original tweeter hides a reply, an icon will appear on their tweet annotating that there are hidden replies. Other users can click on that icon and view the hidden replies. The original poster can also “unhide” tweets.
One very notable part of this feature is that, unlike blocking or muting an account, it doesn’t just affect the original tweeter's experience. The replies will be hidden from others who come across that tweet too.
“People mostly hide replies that they think are irrelevant, abusive or unintelligible,” said Twitter in its announcement. “Those who used the tool thought it was a helpful way to control what they saw, similar to when keywords are muted.”
Twitter said its test resulted in a more positive experience for users.
“We saw that people were more likely to reconsider their interactions when their tweet was hidden: 27% of people who had their tweets hidden said they would reconsider how they interact with others in the future,” the statement continued.
In addition to the U.S., Twitter says it's rolling out the feature in Japan today, too.
Topics Social Media Twitter
