Twitter's new feature lets users hide abusive, hateful replies

Twitter has rolled out a new feature that will allow users to hide hateful, abusive and harassing replies. The micro-blogging site has enabled users to hide replies to their tweets. The social media platform said in a statement that now users can hide replies that digresses from the original discussion. It said that it tested the feature and found out the people find it very useful.

The platform said that the feature is an effort to help users "feel safe and comfortable while talking on Twitter".

Hiding the replies, however, does not do away with the replies. Everyone can still see and engage with the hidden replies by clicking on the grey icon that appears beside the hidden tweets. "This way, people have more control over the conversations they start, but others can still see the entire conversation," it stated.

In its statement, Twitter said that people are curious to see how public figures who are at the receiving end of a lot of hate messages utilise this feature. The company also stated that people may want to take further action on the user and Twitter will further see if they want to block the replier.

However, the micro-blogging site stated that some users have expressed that they don't want to hide replies due to the fear of retaliation as the icon remains visible for everyone. The company said that it would take more such feedback into account.

Twitter also said that it is working on more conversation management tools and is working on options to see who can see specific conversations.

The hide replies option is available globally on iOS, Android, Twitter Lite and on its app.

Also read: Political messages should be earned, not bought, says CEO Jack Dorsey as Twitter bans political ads

Also read: Govt agency flags 'vulnerability' in WhatsApp; company says no user harmed yet