Twitter launched new safety features that should help stop spammers and harassers from communicating with your account. For now, though, the new Safety Mode is only available for a limited group of English-language users on Android, iOS and Twitter.com.
On Wednesday, Twitter proudly introduced new safety features that aims to block "unwelcome interaction." When activated, the Twitter Safety Mode will protect your account by autoblocking other harmful and uninvited users. The blocked accounts should be unable to follow your account, see your tweets, or send Direct Messages. The blocking function lasts for seven days.
The Twitter Safety Mode should potentially block accounts that do these activities on your Twitter feed:
- Users who post insults and hateful remarks (or harassers)
- Users who send out repetitive replies and mentions (or spammers)
- Users who send negative engagement, including fake news
Twitter said that their technology will take into analysis the existing relationship between accounts. Therefore, accounts that you follow or frequently interact with should not be blocked.
How to Activate New Anti-Harassment Feature: Twitter Safety Mode
As previously mentioned, the feature is still being tested among selected users on different platforms. The feature is yet to be added on Browser and Android interface at the time of writing.
However, when the feature is made available, users can activate the Safety Mode by following these steps:
- Open Twitter "Settings and Privacy."
- Open "Privacy and Safety"
- Open "Safety Mode," the option should be located between "Content you see" and "Mute and Block"
- Toggle On "Safety Mode"
Safety Mode has a function to safeguard your account for a customizable number of days. This command should be helpful against trending news or fake news spam.
Safety Mode also has an autoblock function, where users can manually input the accounts they want to block out of their Twitter feed without "unfollowing" them.
Lastly, Twitter said that accounts, comments and posts flagged by Safety Mode can be accessed at any time. Users will receive a notification with the details of these blocked accounts when the Safety Mode period ends.
Twitter Safety Features Still in Testing Phase
Twitter emphasized in their announcement that Safety Mode could make mistakes in the process. It could potentially block many non-offensive accounts by accident.
However, the company assured that all Safety Mode autoblocks can be seen and undone at any moment through the Settings. Users who activate their Safety Mode are recommended to visit their Settings frequently to ensure that no important tweets get autoblocked.
Twitter also said they will monitor the accuracy of their Safety Mode and create improvements on its detection capabilities moving forward.
The Safety Mode feature is one of the most anticipated improvements users have been asking for to combat malicious Twitter accounts. Ideally, it should prevent unwanted content and regulate tweets based on personalized preferences. However, it remains to be seen if this Twitter feature can live up to expectations.
The Twitter Safety Mode should be available to the public some time this month.
