twitterlogoTwitter 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 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.

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.


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

To turn the Quality Filter on or off in the iOS app, users can tap Notifications in the navigation bar, tap the Settings icon at the top left of the screen, and toggle the associated feature switch. A second option on the screen ensures users only see tweets from people they follow.

Tag: Twitter

Top Rated Comments

Mac32 Avatar
104 months ago
Quality filter, hmm..right. Something tells me this filter will disproportionally affect conservative voices and immigration and Islam critics, but not extremist leftwing groups like Black Lives Matters, or subversive NGOs like George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Supacon Avatar
104 months ago
Quality filter, hmm..right. Something tells me this filter will disproportionally affect conservative voices and immigration and Islam critics, but not extremist leftwing groups like Black Lives Matters, or subversive NGOs like George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations.
If "conservative voices and immigration and Islam critics" roughly translates to "disrespectful people, xenophobes and racists", then yeah, you're probably spot-on. And that's kind of the point.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Supacon Avatar
104 months ago
Speaking as a liberal, be awfully careful with that thought process. Maybe today, voices you dislike are censored, but tomorrow it could be yours and you'll have already supported the system to do so.

People should be allowed to express views so long as they aren't specifically advocating violence or for the soul purpose of harassing someone.

We've already seen the incredibly selectively-enforced ToS from Twitter so I don't have much confidence, especially considering the types of people they've been seeking advice from to deal with the issue.

It is entirely illiberal to censor opinions that we don't like rather than defeat them in the open arena of debate, provided it's done so respectfully.
I agree with you; I do not believe in censorship. A private system blocking abusive messages to its users is a far cry from "censorship". People can still go and read such messages if they really want.

I consider myself conservative in some ways, so it pains me when people equate "conservatism" with being hateful and disrespectful. I'm not saying, for instance, that being "Anti-immigration" is inherently xenophobic, but fears or concern about immigration so often tend to be rooted in a fear of other people and a belief that they are a threat because they are different.

Calling "Black Lives Matter" an "extremist left-wing movement" sounds like shades of racism to me. Yes, there are protests that have unfortunately resulted in violence that are associated with this movement, but BLM does NOT equal violence, and advocating against racism does not equal communism. Equating those sounds like being flagrantly dismissive and disrespectful of the real issues of racism and institutional abuse that it is attempting to bring to light.

There's nothing wrong with having a belief, but certain beliefs do seem conducive to manifesting torrents of abuse on people who do not deserve it. So if by "filtering abusive tweets" is interpreted as "censoring conservative opinions" maybe we should really go back to the drawing board and evaluate what we really mean when we label something as conservatism.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
patrickbarnes Avatar
104 months ago
Quality filter, hmm..right. Something tells me this filter will disproportionally affect conservative voices and immigration and Islam critics, but not extremist leftwing groups like Black Lives Matters, or subversive NGOs like George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations.
It just removes spam from the notification list. It doesn't actually filter out tweets.

But I block all the people at the start of your list anyway as they add nothing to the world. No big deal. :)
[doublepost=1471621188][/doublepost]
What problem
The massive amount of spam/troll accounts and bots.
[doublepost=1471621412][/doublepost]
Speaking as a liberal, be awfully careful with that thought process. Maybe today, voices you dislike are censored, but tomorrow it could be yours and you'll have already supported the system to do so.

People should be allowed to express views so long as they aren't specifically advocating violence or for the soul purpose of harassing someone.

We've already seen the incredibly selectively-enforced ToS from Twitter so I don't have much confidence, especially considering the types of people they've been seeking advice from to deal with the issue.

It is entirely illiberal to censor opinions that we don't like rather than defeat them in the open arena of debate, provided it's done so respectfully.
Have you tried posting anything to your friends on Twitter and had a troll army monitoring search results (I.e. Completely outside your network) come and harass you for no reason? Because that happens every single day.

You're all missing the point anyway. This isn't censoring anything. It just removes low follower accounts that you're not connected to from the notification list. The article could be written better.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macs4nw Avatar
104 months ago
They had to act..... the trolling and abusive tweets are getting outta hand and intolerable.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
104 months ago
Right. Twitter is filtering FOR ME, regardless of what I think might be valuable.
Then don't use it. Quit crying baby. It's not a required feature, just one that those of us with large followings will find very useful.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...