As part of its ongoing effort to make micro-blogging a less offensive experience, Twitter has begun censoring profiles that post “potentially sensitive” content.
Users that publish offensive tweets and images will have their profiles grayed out, forcing visitors to push a button to see censored content.
Twitter has long been flagging potentially offensive images so that they don’t automatically appear in your timeline while you’re scrolling through it in the office. But in recent months, the company has stepped up its efforts to make its platform more friendly.
Last month, Twitter started placing temporary bans on “abusive” users that prevent their tweets from appearing to anyone but their followers. Now it is censoring profiles that publish questionable material to save unsuspecting users from stumbling upon it.
“Caution: This profile may include sensitive material,” reads the notice on censored profiles. “You’re seeing this warning because they tweet sensitive images or language. Do you still want to view it?”
Censored profiles are completely grayed out. The profile picture, header image, and all tweets disappear, along with the bio and follower counts. Users must click the “Yes, view profile” button to proceed and unlock the profile.
Screenshot: Engadget
One of the first users to be censored is Justin Warren. He wasn’t made aware of the change when Twitter enforced its block, and he had no explanation for it. It’s “probably because Americans struggle with swearing as punctuation,” he tweeted.
It should be noted, however, that the censor is based on your Twitter settings. If you have specified that you do not with for potentially offensive material to be blocked, then censored profiles will appear as normal.
A Twitter spokesperson told Engadget that this is “a test as part of the company’s efforts to make the site feel safer.” The company didn’t offer any further details on what exactly causes a profile to be censored, or how widespread the test is.
