Twitter explores ‘Trusted Friends’ feature that lets users post for select followers only

There are not many options to keep some posts private on Twitter at the moment, so users resort to temporarily activating the protected tweets setting from time to time or make an alternate account. Twitter says it is aiming to make these things a little easier with some features they are currently exploring. The social media company revealed early designs for a “Trusted Friends” list and an option screen profanities in the replies.

The official TwitterDesign page shared some of its ideas on Thursday. One of them is a feature that could let users set up a “Trusted Friends” list. Twitter could implement this by adding a drop-down selection on the Tweet screen. It would then display a “Choose audience” menu.

Users could tweet for “Everyone,” making their post available to the public or their followers if their profile is set on private, and the other option is the “Trusted friends” list. Twitter said they are also considering a filter option that would display tweets from Trusted Friends first.

Other major social media platforms have already released similar functions. Part of Facebook’s privacy features is letting users choose people from whom they want to hide their posts. On Instagram Stories, users can create a “Close Friends” list.

Another “early idea” Twitter has is called Facets that would allow users to post online “from distinct personas” without having to switch from their main to an alternate account. This seems like a good feature to have for people who do not have multiple accounts but want to keep their tweets about their personal lives away from the timelines of their professional acquaintances.

Twitter is also looking into adding a spellcheck-like feature that would filter expletives in the replies. Users could choose words or phrases that they do not want to see in their replies.

When someone is typing a reply to their tweet, selected profanities would be highlighted. A prompt would also appear on the screen as they are typing, telling them “profanity can be hurtful.” It will not entirely stop the replying party from sending out an expletive-laden post, but Twitter users would have an option to bury such tweets “to the bottom” of their replies.

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