X (formerly known as Twitter) is going to add a feature to let people limit spam replies.
The toggle will let you disable links in replies under a post when you make it.
Elon Musk's X is seemingly about to add a feature that might genuinely help limit the increasingly widespread bot issues that big accounts face on the platform, whether that's through smartphones, tablets, or PC.
According to app researcher Nima Owji, the social media network is testing out a feature that would let users disable the ability for other people to reply to their posts using links – since links out are often a big red flag.
The change wouldn't necessarily be something that every user has been begging for, but it's nonetheless the sort of quality of life tweak that has become increasingly rare since Musk bought Twitter and renamed it.
X is working on the ability to let you disable links in the replies of your posts! pic.twitter.com/dddP0a8l5wJuly 19, 2024
Christopher Stanley, the Senior Director for Security Engineering at X, has since replied to that post to confirm that his team built the feature, although he didn't go into any more detail.
This means we don't know when it's likely to go live, or indeed whether it'll be something every user has access to. After all, X has locked plenty of handy options behind its premium subscription in the hope of growing revenue.
As with many of the changes the network has already made, it's also worth pointing out that this one could have mixed results depending on how it's implemented. While it would indeed stop bots from spamming links to suspect sites and carrying out phishing scams under viral posts, it would also mean that someone could post a false claim and stop anyone from posting links to evidence that contradicts it.
With misinformation such a huge question on X moving forward, and a potentially highly consequential presidential election unfolding in the US over the next few months, it'll be interesting to see how and when this link-limiting option arrives.
Plus, of course, there's still the very real possibility that it doesn't go live at all many apps test features that they don't run with, after all.
