Twitter will finally let you unmention yourself in a tweet: Finally, Twitter will allow you to be left out of this story.
On Thursday, the firm revealed that it was experimenting with a new mechanism for users to opt-out of conversations they don’t want to be a part of. While it’s merely a test, for now, many Twitter users who have been subjected to years of harassment would welcome the opportunity to try it out.
Anyone using the test feature may pick the three-dot menu next to a reply to bring up a popup that promises to “get you out of this chat” (finally!). The pop-up informs you that exiting the chat will untag you from answers, however, your username will remain visible.
The business wouldn’t disclose how many people would see the experimental feature but said it was a “limited” but “global” test. For the time being, it’s just available on the site, so anyone participating in the test won’t be unmentioning themselves on mobile just yet.
Photo below: Twitter will finally let you unmention yourself
Last year, Twitter teased the feature by revealing an early concept design and said that it aimed to assist users in “managing unwanted attention.”
When a person unmentions themself, their Twitter handle turns gray, signaling to other users that they’ve stepped out from the conversation and can’t be tagged back in.
‘Unmentioning’ also disables notifications, keeping you blissfully oblivious of the hostile or otherwise unwelcome messages you receive.
In September, Twitter began testing a new anti-abuse tool called Safety Mode, which allows users who are being harassed to switch on a setting to help filter out abuse on a large scale.
Twitter’s Safety Mode analyzes interactions and automatically eliminates users that are sending you abusive messages, saving victims the time and effort of manually combing through hate-filled replies and removing accounts.
In February, the platform extended the test and is still collecting input on the technology it created to filter online abuse at scale.
After a lengthy period of dormancy, the social network has just begun to develop anti-abuse measures, including the option to specify who can react to a tweet (all of Twitter, users they follow, or just accounts they mention).
Even outside of anti-harassment features, Twitter is increasingly giving users greater freedom and authority, including the ability to erase old tweets from websites where they previously appeared.
