Soon, Twitter will automatically hide abusive direct messages
Twitter has long been plagued by people who spread offensive messages to harass or bully others. Their actions not only traumatize innocent users of the service but also prevent them from having open conversations on the platform. Now, in a bid to avoid that, the microblogging giant is testing the ability to hide abusive messages automatically. Here's all about it.
Offensive messages appear without warning on Twitter
Currently, all offensive messages land in the 'Message requests' folder - the place where you get messages from people you don't follow - of Twitter direct messages. The arrangement mixes clean and abusive messages and doesn't even tell/warn if a message is not supposed to be opened. This eventually exposes unsuspecting users to hate, sometimes even sexually explicit content.
Finally, Twitter has decided to hide offensive messages
As the trauma from offensive messages can deeply affect a user, Twitter has finally decided to take some action about them. It recently shared a tweet, confirming the test of a filter which would automatically detect and hide messages containing offensive texts or photos. The regular DMs from people you don't follow would keep appearing in the message requests section, but nothing offensive/abusive.
Where the hidden messages would go?
Twitter says it will hide the offensive messages, but users will have the option to check them if they need. This could be done by heading over to the Message requests section in Twitter Messages and tapping on the button to show "additional messages, including those that may contain offensive content." Notably, you'd also get the option to delete the messages here.
Here's how the hidden messages would be accessed
Similar feature already active for tweet replies
Twitter's latest feature, if released publicly, could prove handy in saving users from abuse on the platform. There is no word on the release timeline but the company is testing a lot of stuff right now and there's a good chance to see the feature in the coming months. To recall, a similar capability for hiding offensive tweet replies was rolled out in 2017.
