Twitter is Going Global With a New Reply-Limiting Feature

The social media platforms we love or hate, depending on the day, continue to undergo major makeovers this year. Between TikTok starting a Creator Fund, the growing popularity of Facebook’s advertising resources for small businesses (in spite of protests from many activists re: their lack of policing hate-speech on the platform), and the launch of Instagram Reels, there’s been a lot to keep up with. 

Enter Twitter with the latest update to make headlines: a feature which grants users the ability to limit who can and cannot reply to their tweets. Available on both desktop view and the latest version of the Twitter app, this means you can officially get selective about who can or cannot interact with your content. 

The three choices included in this update are: 

1. Everyone can reply.

2. Only people you follow can reply.

3. Only people you mention can reply. (Note that if you choose this option, but mention no one in the tweet, that will effectively mean that no one can reply.)

As of right now, the no-reply setting doesn’t mean others won’t be able to retweet or quote tweet whatever you’ve put out into the world. 

There’s been some concern about this change limiting the prevalence of lengthy threads, dissenting opinions, and all-around discourse on Twitter, but to me, this seems like a bit of a stretch. How is this any different from choosing who can view your Instagram Stories on or who can message you directly on Facebook? Think of this update as a new way for users to exercise agency over their profile and page, and cater their experience of the internet to their own likes and dislikes. 

But, what does this mean for the infamous reply-guy? 

If you’re not familiar, a reply-guy is best defined as: 

Reply-Guy (noun): “a man (or person) who frequently comments on tweets or other social media posts in an annoying, condescending, forward, or otherwise unsolicited manner–especially posts by women. It can also refer to a person who frequently and zealously responds to posts from famous people on Twitter.” 

For more on Reply Guys, you can read the hilarious Constitution that comedian and twitter-user Emlyn Crenshaw wrote for them here. 

Being able to customize your reply settings will undoubtedly have trolls shaking in their boots. Ultimately, we see it as a positive move on Twitter’s part to remove this less than desirable reality of the popular platform. 

Are you excited about this added privacy measure taken and will it affect the way you use Twitter in the future? Let us know in the comments below, or start a conversation (all replies allowed) in our Facebook Creators Group! 

About sophia pelosi

Sophia Pelosi is the Associate Marketing Manager at BlogHer, as well as a contributing author to BlogHer.com. She lives in New York City, and is passionate about pasta from scratch, daily meditation, 70s disco fashion and her beagle Lucy. She graduated from Colby College in 2019. Follow her on Instagram.