Twitter testing new ‘mute’ feature

Alan Littler

Social network Twitter is currently trialling a new feature for its Android and iOS apps that would allow users to mute Tweets from accounts they find irritating.

The facility is designed to temporarily hide Tweets and Retweets from appearing on users’ timelines and differs from the site’s current blocking function, which completely stops all communications from the undesired account.

According to online news providers, the feature is available to some users already and has been described as a ‘stealth unfollow’. The feature is also believed to be a great way to filter through Tweets a user does not wish to see – for example, those about sporting events or a particular TV programme.

The general opinion of this new feature suggests that it would be a welcome addition to the social network. It comes in a period of change for the site, which has recently introduced other new features such as picture tagging. Further noteworthy adjustments to the micro-blogging platform include a new Facebook-style profile page and adverts embedded in timelines, which have received largely negative feedback thus far.

In a blog post regarding ‘experimentation’, the company has said that:

“[…] this is all in service of making Twitter the best it can be.”

It is also believed that, although some users may notice the feature appearing, it may not be a permanent fixture as yet, with the company frequently testing potential new functions that never make it past the testing phase.

Twitter’s biggest rival, Facebook, has already rolled out a similar option, called ‘unfollow’, that allows users to avoid seeing content from people on their timelines without having to completely ‘unfriend’ them.

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Alan Littler

Operations Manager at Engage Web

A bastion of fitness and athleticism, yet also a chocoholic, our Operations Manager Alan is a man of contradictions known for his fiendish powers of organisation.

Twitter testing new ‘mute’ feature