Twitter Tests New Profile Icons To Label Replies

In order to allow users to follow and participate in conversation threads more easily, Twitter is rolling out a new feature. In April, Twitter conducted a test on labels on replies for users. However, many users complained about these chunky text labels as they made the interface more text-heavy and more distracting.

This time, the social media platform is launching a new test that places labels replies with special icons next to their profile pictures.

In a tweet posted in April, the company wrote:

Recently, Twitter replied to that tweet about the updated changes:

The feature includes three different kinds of icons that will show up at the bottom right corner of profile pictures within users’ replies to tweets. The author's replies from the original post will be marked with a microphone symbol. Meanwhile, a little @ icon will appear next to replies of those mentioned by the author and a small person icon with a tick mark indicates replies from people who are followed by the tweet’s author.

According to a spokesperson from Twitter, only a small proportion of users internationally will be able to experience the test.

Twitter has made on-going efforts to make its service more approachable to users. Earlier, the social media company tweaked the design of its website, with which white space becomes larger and tabs for Notifications, Direct Messages, Home and Moments now appear on the left side.

In addition, the company also made changes to Direct Messages to let users follow discussions from other accounts and send direct messages within the same screen without the need to switch to another page.