Back in December, Twitter “accidentally” made an experimental feature available to everyone on its iOS app, and the reaction from users was hostile — to say the least. That hasn’t stopped the firm from rolling out the feature to Android users, however.
The test involved the removal of usernames in tweet replies. As a result, when somebody responded to a tweet, an @ mention would not appear in their reply. It’s a change that has been in the works since May (when the platform announced a slew of changes to tweets) with Twitter selectively testing it with a handful of users from time to time. By mistakenly rolling it out widely, Twitter may have learned that it’s an update that, in practice, people simply don’t like — even if it helps save precious characters.
In general, it seems the change was met with confusion. Users complained that it looked jarring, and that it resulted in a loss of context when reading longer conversation threads.
It didn’t take long for Twitter to take note of the feedback. The company’s official support account admitted its error on Thursday evening in the form of a tweet: “Today, an experiment around replies accidentally went out to everyone on iOS briefly. Upside, we got helpful feedback — we’re listening!”
Today, an experiment around replies accidentally went out to everyone on iOS briefly. Upside, we got helpful feedback – we’re listening!
— Support (@Support) December 9, 2016
But apparently, even if they were listening, they weren’t really persuaded to change course. In early January, it was reported that the same handle-less reply feature had begun rolling out to Twitter’s Android app. After all, the change was ultimately meant to make the platform easier to use, and earlier in 2015 Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said that @ usernames only served to clutter tweets, and confounded new users.
The negative reception brings to mind the backlash that occurred when it was announced Twitter was introducing an optional algorithmic timeline. Twitter must have been aware of the response at the time, but the update was implemented nonetheless. It looks like history will repeat itself in regard to Twitter’s plan to kill @ usernames in replies — whether users like it or not.
Article originally published in December 2015. Updated on 1-4-2017 by Lulu Chang: Added news that the handle-less reply has rolled out to Android users.
Discord is trying to push more visibility on the internet for some of its biggest communities, and there's a good chance your messages could end up in a Google Search. The platform is preparing to make conversations from certain public servers searchable on the web, so there's a privacy setting you might want to check before the rollout begins.
According to Discord's official announcement, the changes will roll out in two stages. Starting November 16, qualifying servers will have public web pages featuring automated summaries of conversations. By mid-December, individual messages from eligible public channels could also appear word-for-word in Google and other search engines.
You just opened X and started typing your thoughts. Imagine the jump scare when a hand suddenly pops up on your screen, pointing at the promote button. It doesn’t say a word and simply points. For a growing number of X users, this isn’t a made-up scenario but something they have been seeing since yesterday, and very few of them are amused.
Most of us have learned to tune out the usual in-app upsells, whether it’s a glowing upgrade banner or a pop-up about a premium plan. A floating hand hovering over your draft is much harder to ignore, and that’s probably the whole point.
Scroll through any app for five minutes, and you’ll find someone maxxing something. Their skin, their sleep, their protein intake, even their Friday night on the couch. That little suffix has been everywhere this year, and now it has a trophy to show for it. In a recent announcement, Dictionary.com named maxxing its 2026 Word of the Year.
What are people actually doing when they’re maxxing?