Security News > 2021 > September > Twitter adds Safety Mode to automatically block online harassment
Twitter has introduced today Safety Mode, a new feature that aims to block online harassment attempts and reduce disruptive interactions on the platform.
Once enabled on a Twitter account, Safety Mode is designed to automatically and temporarily block users for seven days when using harmful language in replies, quote tweets, and mentions in your conversations.
In the beginning, the company will test Safety Mode with a small group of Twitter users in the coming months with plans to further expand the pool of beta testers.
Twitter announced it's planning to introduce the Safety Mode feature to automatically block abusive accounts at its Analyst Day presentation on February 25, 2021.
As the company said at the time, Safety Mode "Automatically blocks accounts that appear to break the Twitter Rules, and mute accounts that might be using insults, name-calling, strong language, or hateful remarks."
This new feature is part of a larger Twitter effort to block abuse on its platform, as shown in the company's Q3 2019 earnings letter when Twitter said that it "Gave people more control over their conversations on Twitter with the launch of author-moderated replies."