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Twitter Safety Mode enters beta to 'autoblock spammy or abusive replies'

Twitter is testing a new Safety Mode that will automatically attempt to go above and beyond its usual safety and filtering options.

TJ Denzer

September 1, 2021 12:10 PM

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The Twitter platform has similar issues to any of the larger social media apps right now, in that there is always a problem with reliable filtering of spam or threats. There’s message reporting, word filters, and account privacy settings to name a few tools, but no really good way to engage actively in the site with reliable protection from its less savory elements. With this in mind, Twitter is testing a new “Safety Mode” in beta that it will fine tune to hopefully provide an automatic filter and block to spammy and abusive replies on your timeline.

Twitter announced its new Safety Mode system via the Twitter Safety account on September 1, 2021. According to the post, the whole point of Twitter’s Safety Mode is to go beyond the usual safety measures and tools Twitter offers to give users an automatic means of blocking unwanted replies and engagement with their posts. Twitter’s Safety Mode, when utilized, will reportedly “autoblock spammy or abusive replies,” recognizing threats, spam, scams, and more to try to keep your conversations clean of obnoxiousness.

We’ll be testing Safety Mode with a small group of people on Twitter in the coming months and expanding the pool of beta testers, as we receive feedback. Stay tuned for more updates and head to our blog to learn more about Safety Mode.https://t.co/ul8gsDMVIg

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) September 1, 2021

There’s no telling whether or not Twitter Safety Mode will work as advertised just yet, which is likely part of why Twitter is running it through beta first. Reportedly, a select few users will be able to access Twitter Safety Mode over the next few months or so in order to fine tune and ensure Safety Mode knows how to recognize the kind of replies it should be filtering and the ones it shouldn’t.

Given the toxicity on Twitter, Safety Mode doesn’t sound like a terrible new feature. It’s part of a number of features such as the Shop Module that the company is testing as it aims to expand the social media platform. As we learn more about Twitter Safety Mode, its beta duration, and when it will officially come out, stay tuned for more details and updates here at Shacknews.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.