No more universal '@': Twitter's testing feature to limit mentions
What's the story
Mentions is considered to be one of the best features of Twitter. It gives you the ability to reach anyone with a simple '@.' However, it can be annoying as well. Twitter wants to curb this through some audience control measures. It is now testing a feature that will give users the power to decide who can mention them.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Twitter has been criticized for making its users an easy target of cyberbullying. However, it has been taking measures to make the platform more friendly to public posting. The audience control measures are aimed at that. What's interesting is that Twitter's potential owner Elon Musk is not a supporter of these measures. We don't know if they will stay if he acquires the company.
Feature
You can block mentions completely
Twitter's new privacy measure will let users decide who can mention them. The users will be able to either block mentions completely or limit them to only people who follow them. In the test version, there is an 'Allow others to mention you' toggle, which can stop others from mentioning your @handle completely. Below that there are options to choose who can mention you.
Information
Twitter's privacy designer tweeted about feature and deleted it
The test feature was first noticed by privacy researcher and engineer Jane Manchun Wong. Twitter's privacy designer Dominic Camozzi then confirmed the feature via a tweet and asked for feedback from Twitterati. According to The Verge, he later deleted the tweet.
Twitter Post
Check out Twitter's new privacy feature
Twitter is working on letting you control who can mention you on Twitter pic.twitter.com/UemMCGcy70
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) October 13, 2022
Similar features
Twitter introduced 'Unmentioning' earlier this year
The ability to limit mentions is in line with Twitter's recent audience control tools. The microblogging platform recently launched the 'Unmentioning' tool which lets users unmention themselves from a tweet. The new feature is in a way a pre-emptive measure. The company last year introduced another similar feature. It lets users limit who can reply to their tweets.
Shift
Twitter will no longer be the 'global town square'
The ability to limit mentions is a fundamental shift in the way Twitter works. The platform has been all about making it easy for one to reach strangers. Now, this feature once rolled out widely, will change that. Twitter will no longer be the 'global town square' it once strived to be. Instead, it will be more walled.