iWorld
Here’s how you can control who replies to your Tweets with Twitter’s new conversation settings
NEW DELHI: Twitter is where people go to see and talk about what’s happening. But sometimes, unwanted replies make it hard to have meaningful conversations. The service has been working to give people more control over their conversations. To this end, Twitter has globally rolled out a new update that gives people the ability to choose who can reply to their Tweets and join in their conversation.
These new conversation settings are available to everyone using Twitter, across iOS, Android and twitter.com. Here are some simple tips on how you can make the most of these new controls from Twitter
How to choose: who can reply to your Tweet
From twitter.com or the Twitter for iOS or Android app, tap on the compose Tweet button
Click or tap the globe icon, to choose who can reply to your Tweet from the following options:
Everyone
People you follow
Only people you mention
Once you finalise your settings, compose your Tweet and click or tap Tweet to post
Important to note: People who can’t reply will still be able to view, Retweet, Retweet with Comment, like and share your Tweets. Also, once you’ve published a Tweet, you cannot change the reply settings of that particular Tweet.
How to choose: who you can reply to
From the compose screen, you can see the people in the conversation you will reply to. Click or tap Replying to… to bring up an editing screen with a list of everyone who is a part of the conversation. Up to 50 people who are in the conversation will be displayed.
Adding people to a conversation: Swipe down to close the editing screen, and then simply type their username into your Tweet.
Removing people from a conversation: To remove people from the conversation in the editing screen, simply click or tap on the checkmark icon to deselect participants. Once someone is unselected, the checkmark icon will be unchecked.
Blocked accounts: Accounts you have blocked will be visible to you in the recipient list, and will indicate that you have blocked them. From the editing screen, you can choose to remove the blocked account from the conversation by clicking or tapping on the checkmark icon.
How to view participants of a conversation
You can also view participants of a conversation from Tweets you see in your Home timeline, profile page, notifications, or from a Tweet detail. To view participants’ names, bio, and @usernames:
Click or tap Replying to…
From here you can see everyone who is included in this reply. You can also follow or unfollow people in this list.
Just like you can see the total number of likes and retweets for any tweet, you can also see how many people are participating in the conversation by the reply count. You’ll see a number next to the reply icon indicating how many direct replies the original Tweet has received.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
