Twitter rolls out 'Quality Filter' to hide abusive posts

Because, you cannot shut them, so let’s make them invisible. Twitter seems to have found a new means to fight against online abuse. The micro-blogging site has announced a new "Quality Filter" feature that enables users to filter notifications so that they only see "quality tweets" and mentions from people they follow.

The filter works using an algorithm to distinguish between good and abusive mentions. Any duplicate tweets or automated content identified by the feature are also filtered out of feeds, so that users don't see them at all when browsing the social media service.

Two simple settings to give you better control over your Twitter experience. https://t.co/pEJuMUhCYspic.twitter.com/jmFd0rDoV6

— Twitter Support (@Support) August 18, 2016

This surely won’t keep abusive tweets off Twitter, but it could help hide them from the people they are intended to hurt. On flipside, blocking notifications from those you don’t follow means you may also miss out on mentions you want to see.

The feature initially rolled out as a test and was created partly as a means to combat users' exposure to abusive trolls, but Twitter says the filter is now available to everyone.

"Last year we began testing a quality filter setting and we're now rolling out a feature for everyone. When turned on, the filter can improve the quality of Tweets you see by using a variety of signals, such as account origin and behavior," Twitter said in a blog post.

Content from accounts users follow and any recent interactions with accounts they don't, aren't affected by the filter, according to Twitter.