Twitter's New 'Safety Mode' Auto-Block Option Is Now Available to More Users

Twitter has revealed that its new 'Safety Mode' function, which has been in testing for four months, will now be available to a wider range of users.

Based on automatic system detection, Safety Mode is effectively a large-scale auto-block.

Certain users can now access 'Safety Mode' under the app's 'Privacy and Safety' options, which will automatically block problematic accounts for seven days as seen here. In this case, problematic accounts include those that use potentially toxic language and those who have sent you repetitive replies or @mentions you haven't responded to.

The concept is if you're receiving plenty of unfavorable responses to a contentious tweet, you can turn on Safety Mode, and Twitter's systems will safeguard you from those mentions. A day or two will probably be plenty for things to calm down given the fact that Twitter frenzy tends to linger just for hours at a time, so if you do make a mistake, the choice could help to reduce some of the psychological stress that comes with on-platform abuse and pile-on.

It could, however, assist some users in avoiding responsibility and the repercussions of their conduct in the app. You can expect that people wouldn't choose to block such responses and avoid such things if they were purposely sharing contentious thoughts, as some of them wish to rile up the Twitter nest just to see what reaction they'd get.

Those who unwittingly slip into such and are in danger of being 'canceled' by the Twitter crowd appear to be the ones who are the focus of such functionality. In certain cases, perhaps the safest option is to apologize as soon as possible, then turn on Safety Mode and/or log off for a while before returning.

There's always the chance that anything you thought was sensible or reasonable could be misconstrued, and as the retweets and mentions accumulate, it can become worrisome when you ponder the broader implications for your reputation or status.

Such blunders usually have no long-term consequences, but if you've made an error, this can be a decent, temporary fix if you don't wish to be the target of outrage.

Safety Mode is already accessible in "several new English-speaking markets," according to Twitter, meaning it could be in your Twitter app shortly.