Twitter has started to roll out a new feature known as soft block, which allows web users to delete or limit a follower without blocking them. Soft blocking is not the same as blocking someone because it enables limited users to see your tweets but not in their feed. Users who have been soft banned can also direct message the user who has messaged them.
Users who do not want to totally block a user but want to distance themselves from such accounts would benefit from this feature. When a person is soft blocked or removed from someone’s account, Twitter does not inform them. If you totally block a user, they won’t be able to see what you’ve posted, and you won’t be able to send them a direct message. Instagram provides a similar option called Restrict account. The feature, as the name implies, allows users to limit someone’s Instagram activity. Instagram has introduced options such as Close Friends and Hide Story For Accounts to prevent certain people from watching your activities.
Twitter is also testing a feature called Heads-Up, which appears to be working for certain Android and iOS users. Twitter has announced that it is testing prompts that would notify users before they enter into a violent, intense, or heated chat. Twitter claimed that the prompts are intended to encourage healthy conversation.
