Twitter on Wednesday announced that its Android users would receive a prompt when they Retweet an article that hasn't been opened by the users on the platform. The company said that the new feature is being introduced as a test and is intended “to help promote informed discussion.” In a separate tweet, Twitter explained that the experimental feature is currently restricted to one platform as it aids them to “build and test as fast and effectively as possible.” The company has been working on improving the meaningful conversation experience on the platform in the recent months. In mid May, Twitter launched another experimental feature that enabled users to select who can initiate a conversation to their tweet.
Twitter Prompts Users to Read Before Hitting the Retweet Button
The company said that the experimental feature introduced on Wednesday would generate prompts only on links emerging from news outlets.
“It's easy for links/articles to go viral on Twitter,” Kayvon Beykpour, product lead at Twitter, said in a tweet on Wednesday. “This can be powerful but sometimes dangerous, especially if people haven't read the content they're spreading. This feature (on Android for now) encourages people to read a linked article prior to Retweeting it.”
Following the announcement, several users have asked Twitter on whether the platform checks on what users do on other browsing tabs. In a separate tweet, Twitter said that the company would check on whether users have clicked on the links through the platform and not elsewhere.
“For this experiment, if you tap to Retweet an article link, we’ll check if you've recently clicked the article link only on Twitter, not elsewhere,” Twitter said. “When you see the prompt, you'll always have the option to go ahead and Retweet.”
Twitter Introduced Fleets in India
Additionally, the company in late 2019, as part of its bid to improve the conversation experience enabled users to hide certain replies to provide “more control” to the user’s Twitter experience.
It has to be noted that the company on Tuesday announced the roll out of its Fleets feature to its users in India. Fleets is the company’s version of the Instagram and Snapchat Stories and enables users to share tweets, photos, GIFs or videos but unlike regular tweets, the Fleets would disappear after 24 hours.
