Twitter's Privacy Feature Plans Include Option to Hide Your Old Tweets

[MacRumors]

Twitter is planning new privacy-related features that provide users with greater control over follower lists and who can see their posts and likes, reports Bloomberg.

The plans are said to include an option to archive old tweets so that other users can't see them after a set period of time designated by the account holder (such as 30, 60, or 90 days, or a whole year), as well as the ability to edit follower lists.

According to Bloomberg, the plans are an effort to make people more comfortable interacting and sharing on Twitter, and are related to what Twitter executives call "social privacy," or how users manage their identities and reputations on the social network.

Internal research at the company reportedly found that many Twitter users don't understand the privacy basics, like whether their account is private or public, which causes them to engage less on the social network because they don't know what other people will be able to see about them.

To counter this, Twitter will start prompting users to review whether their accounts are public or private beginning in September. Its privacy team are also working on other potential changes including the ability to remove followers (as opposed to blocking them), hide liked tweets, and remove oneself from a public conversation.

Twitter has no timeline for some of the changes, while some features, like the archive option, are still in the "concept phase," but Twitter plans to let people remove followers starting this month, and to let users remove themselves from conversations by the end of the year.

Article Link: Twitter's Privacy Feature Plans Include Option to Hide Your Old Tweets

 

[macduke]

You can try to hide your Tweets, but once you post something on the internet, it’s there forever.

 

[amartinez1660]

You can try to hide your Tweets, but once you post something on the internet, it’s there forever.

The digital footprint is real. Besides the inherent web caching, server rollbacks, etc there’s always a screen cap happening minutes after the tweet that people start sharing around.

One thing I have just realized amidst all these recent social media updates and “enhancements”: in the last couple of months I have received almost no Twitter/Instagram/Facebook links to check, maybe the odd one once a week; before it would be sevaral a day from work channels, friends chat groups, etc.

 

[Marco Klobas]

I have 0 likes not because I don't want to express appreciation/gratitude to others' tweets. Simply because I don't want the whole world know (potentially) what I like through my Twitter profile.

I'm fine if someone find my like directly through the specific liked tweet. Not through a public list containing everything I liked so far.

I get that it's against the social "logic". Still, we are not all the same: some prefer to expose themself continuously, expressing their opinion or feelings (often making more noise than anything else). Others prefer to keep a lower profile.

Social networks should offer this kind of "privacy" options, too IMO. It's a small, simple thing: just a setting, nothing difficult to implement.

 

[winxmac]

Can someone tell me the benefit of having old tweets hidden? Isn't there already the choice to have the tweets public or private?

And as far as what I have read about United States so far, when you try to apply for employment or something similar, they also check your social network account history, and it led to some people getting removed from their jobs and even though the outlook/stand of the person has changed since those many years they have posted that tweet, they still get criticized or whatever for those old tweets...

It's not like hiding those will prevent others from seeing those hidden tweets... If there's a will there's a way, and if data from accidentally formatted drives can be recovered, the same goes for deleted Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, etc.

 

[jimbobb24]

Good. Dragging up random past tweets of people from years ago to try and shame or cancel them is one of the ugliest features of modern journalism and culture.

 

[PSeg]

Kyland on Big Brother could've used this recently.....

Big Brother: Kyland Young’s Old Complaints On Twitter Resurface

Kyland's old tweets full of complaints have resurfaced.

screenrant.com

 

[Cleartz]

Twitter, make this core, exactly how TweetDelete does it.

Delete Tweets (X Posts) - X.com's Official Partner

Delete tweets (X posts) in bulk based on their age or specific text they contain, run it once or automatically on a schedule.

tweetdelete.net

 

[velocityg4]

...

Internal research at the company reportedly found that many Twitter users don't understand the privacy basics, like whether their account is private or public, which causes them to engage less on the social network because they don't know what other people will be able to see about them.

To counter this, Twitter will start prompting users to review whether their accounts are public or private beginning in September. Its privacy team are also working on other potential changes including the ability to remove followers (as opposed to blocking them), hide liked tweets, and remove oneself from a public conversation...

Seems to me. The best option would be to set everything to maximum privacy by default. Clearly stating that to new users.

For current users. A popup you click OK on. Set by default to maximum privacy. Which leaves settings alone as the optional state. So, those who don't pay attention and click OK out of reflex get set to maximum privacy. Only showing up for those who haven't updated their privacy settings manually.

Not to say I believe Twitter privacy means much. At least not with info shared to advertisers and such.

 

[WWPD]

If you have Tweets you want to hide...maybe you should stay off Twitter.

 

[randyhudson]

I wonder which monthly subscription you'll need to have such privacy

 

[T Coma]

Perfect for important people who like to issue grand statements on important issues, but also like to flip flop.

 

[jamisonbaines]

Surpised there isnt more positive sentiment towards this. My Twitter account is more than a decade old, I would enable this feature.

 

[6787872]

too late. googles' got em.

 

[SFjohn]

It seems like Twitter is announcing new features every week. I wonder if this improvement barrage is just to see what sticks to the wall. Is Twitter doing poorly?

 

[vikingjunior]

Twitter, make this core, exactly how TweetDelete does it.

Delete Tweets (X Posts) - X.com's Official Partner

Delete tweets (X posts) in bulk based on their age or specific text they contain, run it once or automatically on a schedule.

tweetdelete.net

Thank you for this...what Twitter doesn't realize is because I liked something years ago doesn't mean I would still like it today. Same thing with comments that I may not still support today, people do change their opinions and beliefs as they get older.

 

[bigandtasty]

You can try to hide your Tweets, but once you post something on the internet, it’s there forever.

as it should be! These little pricks that wan't to play keyboard cowboys and spew hate shouldn't be aloud to hide under the cover of having the ability to hide their meaningless little thoughts. That garbage should be there for future character reference! F Twitter

 

[Thebrochure]

This is good news.

 

[Tech198]

Sometime old tweets are handy still. Twitter IS a social site after all.... not a forum