Twitter is Testing a Feature That Lets You Control Who Can Mention You in Tweets

Twitter is one of the platforms where unfiltered opinions are rampant. There are many sides to Twitter that some users don't even know to exist, and sometimes users prefer not to see them on their feeds.

Of course, you could adjust your settings to avoid certain posts, but as for mentions, There are still risks. Twitter is finally adding a feature where you can control who gets to mention you or just disable mentions completely, according to The Verge.

Twitter Improving the Platform

Twitter has been a free-for-all media since it began, and interactions between strangers on each post are one of the most entertaining parts of the social media platform. But, this has caused instances of unethical conversations that users choose not to be a part of. Unless they block the person involved in the conversation, Twitter users can still be mentioned as much as the other party can.

Since Twitter users will be able to limit who can @ them, these instances can be avoided. It will be a pretty big change for the platform, but it could be changing for the better as it may prevent bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Based on a tweet from Jane Manchun Wong, a security researcher, Twitter is already working on the feature.

Other Improvements from Twitter

This isn't the first change that Twitter has implemented recently. Back in 2020, the social media platform also added a reply-limiting feature. Suzanne Xie, Twitter's director of product management, said that it is part of the platform's effort to provide more control to users regarding their interactions.

The user can choose between the default, which is where anyone can reply, or limit it to the people they follow, the people that are mentioned in the tweet only. If the Twitter user picked the two choices aside from the default, the reply button would be grayed out for people who were not permitted to reply.

Twitter has also added a "Twitter Status" feature wherein users can add status updates related to Twitter slang like "Twitter do your thing," "Don't @ me," "That's it, that's the Tweet," "A thread," as well as famous lines like "Picture of the day," "Unpopular opinion," "Then and now," "Touching grass," and "Wholesome."

Another thing that is much more recent is that users can now edit their tweets. Granted, they do it within the 30-minute time bracket after it was published. Users are limited to up to five edits. Although, the feature is only available to users with the Twitter Blue Subscription for now.

This can be useful when a tweet contains typos or wrong information. Users can also add media files or tag someone. According to TechCrunch, Twitter is still observing user behavior, and the initial 30-minute window and maximum of five edits could still change.

Some of these features are long overdue, like the edit feature, so people wouldn't have to reply to their own tweets with an asterisk beside their correction.