Last year, Twitter launched a feature that allowed users to pick and choose who could respond to their tweets, making unwanted replies and broken threads a thing of the past.
Now, Twitter has updated it to allow you to adjust those settings even after a tweet has been sent out into the world.
The feature gives you the option to choose between three settings when you publish a tweet: everyone (this means anyone with a Twitter account can respond to your tweet), only people you follow or only people you mention.
For tweets set as only people you follow and only people you mention, users will see a label telling them who can respond and the reply icon will be grayed out if they can’t. This doesn’t mean your tweet will be hidden – anyone will still be able to retweet, share, like and even retweet with a comment (if they really want you to hear what they have to say), but they won’t be able to reply directly below your tweet.
“Since we started testing this in May, people have used it to host interviews and panels, share what’s on their mind, and make announcements”, said Twitter when the feature launched last August.
“We’ve learned a lot from usage, feedback interviews, and surveys. These settings help some people feel safer and could lead to more meaningful conversations, while still allowing people to see different points of view”.
Twitter announced the latest updates to the feature on July 13 through its Twitter Safety account – a page dedicated to the website’s safety tools.
So, how does it work? Read on to learn how to limit who can reply to your tweets before you hit post, as well as after.
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How to limit who can reply to your tweets
You can use Twitter’s reply settings to customise who can respond to your tweets both before and after you hit send.
How to limit who can reply before you tweet:
- Open the ‘compose Tweet’ box
- Type out your tweet
- Select the globe icon next to ‘Everyone can reply’
- Choose your preferred setting
- Hit ‘Tweet’ to publish your tweet
How to limit who can reply after you tweet:
- Identify which tweet you want to edit
- Select the three dot menu
- Tap ‘Change who can reply’
- Choose your preferred setting
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
