Soon, Tweeps will be able to react to tweets. According to Twitter’s latest announcement, it’s currently testing a feature called “quote tweet with reaction”. It will enable embedding a copy of a tweet into a photo or video instead of just replying to it with text.
How it Works:
- The retweet menu would have a “Quote Tweet with reaction” button.
- When a user taps it, it directs to a screen where the user can take a photo or video or choose directly from the camera roll.
- Once the user selects, the tweet is placed on top of it.
Concerns Over New Feature
As much as the new feature takes similar route with TikTok’s video replies, which Instagram also recently adopted for its Reels feature, some Twitter users, as well as tech experts at The Verge, have expressed concern that the new feature could make way for more bullying harassment on the app.
Speaking on the flexibility and privacy concerns of the feature, Twitter’s spokesperson Viviana Wiewall said; “currently you won’t be able to turn off who can and can’t use the feature on your tweets, as it inherits the standard quote tweet behaviour.”
When asked if the feature being used for harassment was a concern, she replied, “The safety of people on Twitter is our priority and while we don’t anticipate this being used in a harmful fashion, we’ll be closely monitoring the usage of the product and ensure that any abuse is adjudicated as per the Twitter Rules.”
According to Tech experts at The Verge, while it’s relatively easy for the platform to moderate regular quote tweets, it’s harder to programmatically scan the contents of a photo or video.
Twitter on a normal day is regarded as an app for the ‘savage minded’, little wonder why a lot of people prefer to stick to Instagram and other happy triggering apps like Tiktok and Snapchat. Do you reckon that this feature would make the app too savage for comfort?