Twitter’s new feature automatically removes abuse from your timeline

It’s good to see that CEO Dick Costolo is fulfilling his promise to personally purge Twitter of the bullies and trolls that have made it hard for many people to enjoy the service. The latest move comes in the form of “Quality filter” that will sift through the posts on your timeline and automatically hide unwanted messages, such as insults or threats.

After admitting that it’s failed to adequately combat abuse and harassment, Twitter has been moving swiftly to weed out its worst users — or at least make them easier to ignore. Its latest step appears to be a “Quality filter,” first noticed by Anil Dash, that will curate your timeline in an attempt to hide unwanted messages. The filter “aims to remove all tweets from your notifications timeline that contain threats, offensive or abuse language, duplicate content, or are sent from suspicious accounts.” The feature is currently available for verified users only, a Twitter spokesperson said. It uses filters similar to the “tailored” notifications that verified users previously could use. Last week, Twitter introduced changes to its harassment reporting tools that make it easier to alert authorities about threats to personal safety and flag other tweets that warrant immediate attention from law enforcement.