Adios, Over-Tweeters: Twitter Finally Adds a Mute Button

BY Adario Strange

Twitter has announced the addition of a mute feature for users of its website and the company's app on iOS and Android.

The first hints that such a change might be on the way came earlier in May when a report revealed that some users had begun seeing the feature popping up on their mobile Twitter apps.

"The muted user will still be able to fave, reply to, and retweet your Tweets; you just won’t see any of that activity in your timeline," said Twitter product manager Paul Rosania in a blog post on the company's website on Monday. " 

The muted user will not know that you’ve muted them, and of course you can unmute at any time

The muted user will not know that you’ve muted them, and of course you can unmute at any time."

Long-time users of the Twitter may know that the Tweetbot app already includes a feature that allows you to follow a user without necessarily viewing their tweets and retweets.

This feature can be particularly useful when a person you're following begins rapid-fire tweeting from an event you have no interest in, or is engaged in a protracted public conversation that you'd rather not participate in. The feature will also be a boon for many businesspeople who use the service, as it allows you to pay someone you've networked with the courtesy of a follow onTwitter, even if you'd rather not consume the content in their Twitter stream.

According to Rosania, the feature will be rolled out over the course of the next few weeks. Instructions for how to get the mute feature working when it becomes available on your feed are on the newly updated Twitter support page.