Twitter testing tweet reply moderation feature

Social media expert Jane Manchun Wong reported that Twitter is working on a feature to allow users to hide replies to their tweets, news that Twitter senior product manager Michelle Yasmeen Haq confirmed shortly after. 

After digging around in the code of the Twitter for Android app, reverse software engineer Jane Manchun Wong discovered that Twitter is testing a feature that would allow users to moderate the replies on their tweets. In response to Wong's tweet, senior product manager Michelle Yasmeen Haq confirmed these findings and explained how the feature will work. 

Twitter is testing replies moderation. It lets you to hide replies under your tweets, while providing an option to show the hidden replies pic.twitter.com/dE19w4TLtp

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) February 28, 2019

The feature is being developed to protect users and their discussions which are the heart and soul of the platform, as stated by Haq: "We think of conversations as an ecosystem of different groups: authors, repliers, the audience and the platform. We try to balance the experience across all four groups, and we are continuously exploring ways to shift the balance without overcorrecting." 

1/8 Thanks to Jane and @MattNavarra for starting the conversation about the this feature we are developing! We wanted to provide a little more context on it. https://t.co/Ws2rJfa8sl

— Michelle Yasmeen Haq (@thechelleshock) February 28, 2019

Currently, users can moderate their conversations by blocking, reporting, and muting inappropriate comments, though these features are only useful for the people who did the blocking, and reporting is only effective if a Twitter policy was violated. 

This new feature would allow the conversation starter to hide irrelevant or inappropriate comments from everyone, though other users will be able to see the hidden tweets through a dedicated menu option.  

Haq said that "[Twitter] think[s] the transparency of the hidden replies would allow the community to notice and call out situations where people use the feature to hide content they disagree with. We think this can balance the product experience between the original Tweeter and the audience." 

Haq confirmed that the moderation tool will undergo public testing over the upcoming months. – AFP Relaxnews