How to Hide Replies on Twitter
A few years ago, Twitter replaced its chronological list of replies to a tweet with a “ conversation rating, ” giving priority to replies from the people you follow and the author of the original tweet. In 2018, to curb abuse, the ranking system began to include other factors, such as the number of user accounts and their IP address.
As another step towards reducing abuse, Twitter last week announced the rollout of a feature that allows users to hide replies to their tweets. According to Twitter, this is intended to help users “communicate better” – or curb the problem of shitty tweets.
To give it a try, click on the menu option to the right of the reply to your tweet and look for the “Hide reply” option. The tweet in question will now be hidden from both you and other users (although users can still view any comments you blocked by clicking the original tweet again and selecting “View Hidden Replies”).
The best thing about this new feature is that users facing harassment don’t have to wait for Twitter moderation after they’ve reported a problem user or tweet. On the other hand, this feature gives the original tweeter a lot of power, because it is entirely up to them to decide whether a conversation will reply to their tweet. In the world of fake news and misinformation, this means the user can hide corrections or any opposing points of view. (Twitter tested this feature among its Canadian users earlier this year. “People tend to hide responses they think are inappropriate, offensive, or incomprehensible,” they wrote .)
In any case, hidden answers will remain available after the next click. Depending on the user (and their tweet), the “View hidden replies” option can be important to get complete information if the user chooses to hide replies they just don’t like, even if those replies actually correct inaccurate information.