Twitter is developing a feature that would let users hide replies to their tweets.
The new feature, first uncovered by coder Jane Manchun Wong, gives a user a “Hide Tweet” option to hide replies from other users, instead of blocking or muting them.
Other users would then be able to click a “View Hidden Tweets” tool to look at the concealed tweets.
Michelle Yasmeen Haq, senior product manager at Twitter, confirmed that the “Hide Tweet” and “View Hidden Tweets” controls were in development, as part of its drive to promote “healthy” conversations on the platform.
“We already see people trying (to) keep their conversations healthy by using block, mute, and report, but these tools don’t always address the issue,” she said in a tweet late Thursday.
“Block and mute only change the experience of the blocker, and report only works for the content that violates our policies.”
Commenters raised concerns that the new feature could be abused, noting it could shut down a debate or prevent people from holding politicians on the platform to account.
But Wong said the move appeared to be about “moderation,” while Twitter’s Haq noted that it would let users “notice and call out situations where people use the feature to hide content they disagree with.”
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