Twitter expands downvote feature to more users: What is it and how it works

Twitter has announced that it is expanding the downvote test feature to more users. The move was announced by the company in a Tweet. “We learned a lot about the types of replies you don’t find relevant and we’re expanding this test –– more of you on web and soon iOS and Android will have the option to use reply downvoting.” the Tweet read. The company began the pilot of the feature in July last year. At that time, the feature was only available to limited users on the iOS platform.
How the is downvote feature on Twitter works
For those who don’t know, the feature allows you to upvote or downvote on Tweet replies. As per the company, the feature will help to understand the type of replies users find relevant in a conversation. It is worth noting that the downvotes aren’t public and the upvotes are shown as likes.
Once rolled out, the platform will show a new button next to the like option. When pressed, the downvote button will get yellow. The company also further mentioned that the downvote button isn’t a dislike button and the number of votes won’t change the order of replies. As of now, there is no official word from the company about the public availability of the feature.
It is also worth noting that every feature that the platform tests does not always make it to the public update. A few months ago, Twitter announced that it will roll out a feature that will warn users if the discussion was likely to heat up or get intense. The move was announced as a part of the company’s ‘conversational health’ initiative. The new feature was released for iOS and Android platforms for testing, but the platform later pulled the plug on the feature.
This wasn’t the first case where the company clawed back after releasing a new feature. Previously discontinued features on the platform include the controversial health features, quote-tweet prompts, ability to limit replies and others.