Twitter Introduces Mute Feature as Stealth Alternative to Blocking

Twitter has introduced a new feature that allows you to block tweets from certain users from appearing on your timeline. The new feature helps you avoid people that you would rather not keep in contact with, but they'll still be able to see your tweets and retweets.

The mute feature serves as an ideal alternative to blocking because people who you mute will not know that you have muted them; your Twitter activity will still be available for them to view and unless they have access to your timeline then no offense will be taken.

What Does the New Feature Do?

Muting a user will make it so none of their tweets or retweets will be visible on your timeline, and you also won't receieve SMS notifications from them. This feature has been introduced as a solution to the controversial blocking policy change that was briefly implemented back in December.

Previously, if a user wanted to avoid someone on Twitter they would have to block them completely, and since the blocked user would see that they are no longer receiving tweet updates from you, this made it obvious that you have blocked them.

Of course, quieting someone's annoying tweets shouldn't come at the cost of losing them as a friend completely, which is why Twitter has introduced the new mute feature as a more friendly option.

Fortunately, Twitter users can still use the conventional blocking feature or opt for the less aggressive mute feature instead.

A Solution to the Blocking Controversy?

Back in December Twitter briefly instituted a change to its blocking policy, making it so users could no longer tell if they had been blocked. This caused an uproar and, after many complaints, the site issued a post stating that it was reverting back to the original policy (once again making it possible for users to see whether they've been blocked).

This of course was satisfactory to users who were mad about being blocked, but unsatisfactory to users who wanted to block people without them knowing. The new mute feature provides a comfortable compromise in which users can decide whether they want to stealthily ignore another user or block them altogether. 

In the post, Twitter stated that it originally instated the change to protect users from abuse and retaliation in the event that another user gets angry after finding out they've been blocked. Although the intention seemed positive their solution was not taken well by all Twitter users.

Using the Mute Feature as a Content Filter

In addition to serving as a friendly blocking tool, muting provides an ideal solution to people who want to stay in contact with family members and friends but don't want an overwhelming amount of tweets showing up in their timeline.

In this way the mute feature can be used as a content filtering tool to keep your timeline populated with the tweets and retweets you want to see the most. The feature can be easily enabled or disabled so there is no need to make a permanent commitment and the mute button can be used as liberally as you'd like.