Twitter's testing out a new option that would enable users to receive notifications about replies to another account's tweet.
You probably have notifications on for your must-follows. Now you can get notifications when there’s a new reply to a Tweet you’re interested in! We’re testing this on iOS and Android now. pic.twitter.com/MabdFoItxc
— Twitter (@Twitter) August 8, 2019
As you can see in the above example, under the test, users will be able to select any tweet, from any profile, and be notified as the discussion evolves.
There are three options listed as follows (Twitter's wording on each, not mine):
- Top - Get the most interesting replies, including ones from the author, anyone they mentioned and people you follow
- All - Get every new reply
- None - You won't get any notifications when people reply
The last option - to get no notifications - is the default, and the one you can choose if you want to switch off notifications for the ensuing thread.
The option to subscribe to tweet replies was first spotted in testing by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong back in March. As noted in the announcement above, Twitter's launching the test on both iOS and Android with a limited subset of users.
The functionality of the option is fairly limited in scope, but it has been a commonly requested feature, and it could help more users stay in touch with trending conversations and topics. Brands could also look to use the option for competitor monitoring - if there's a discussion thread between a competing business and a customer which you're interested in, you'd be able stay across it with less effort.
Twitter hasn't decided on a full rollout as yet - we'll keep you updated as we hear.