Twitter began testing a feature to examine the types of replies people deem relevant to a topic, as it looks to fend off growing competition with more engaging content.
In a series of tweets, the company said the trial allows some iOS users to give a positive or negative response to replies to posts, though only the favourable reactions will be available publicly.
Some users highlighted similarities with a rating system on Reddit.
Twitter explained the tool will not impact the order of replies and its only purpose was to understand what types of replies are perceived as relevant, “so we can work on ways to show more of them”.
In Q1 Twitter warned of slower user growth for the remainder of the year: it faces increasing competition from services including TikTok and Instagram.
An attempt to engage users with ephemeral content failed to gain traction.
