Twitter is testing the ability to add content warnings to individual tweets, meaning you might soon be able to post thirst traps without causing your more innocent followers undue shock.
While Twitter’s settings currently allow you to mark all media you tweet as containing sensitive material, this all or nothing approach doesn’t allow for much nuance. It may be useful for sex workers or crime reporters who frequently post violent content, but it doesn’t accommodate discussions of graphic news events as they arise — or those one-off days when you’re just really feeling yourself. This new feature looks to provide a solution.
“People use Twitter to discuss what’s happening in the world, which sometimes means sharing unsettling or sensitive content,” the official Twitter Safety account wrote on Tuesday. “We’re testing an option for some of you to add one-time warnings to photos and videos you Tweet out, to help those who might want the warning.”
Mashable has reached out to Twitter for comment.
The content warning feature appears fairly simple to use. After attaching an image to a draft tweet, users can tap the “…” in the bottom right corner of the picture. From there, they’ll be able to add a content warning by selecting the flag on the bottom right corner of the screen. They will then need to indicate the reason why they’re adding a warning, marking it as either from “violence,” “nudity,” or “sensitive” content.
Once posted, the image will be blurred and overlaid with a message that the tweet’s author flagged it, and why it was flagged. It will only be visible to other users once they’ve agreed to view it, meaning it’s less likely people will be exposed to images that they’d rather not see.
It isn’t clear how widespread this test is, nor if or when the rest of us might see this feature. But it’s certainly a welcome tool that will hopefully help make doomscrolling through Twitter a little less doomy.
