Twitter has announced a new Mute function that will allow users to “mute" tweets from their followers, keeping their tweets from appearing in the user's timeline. This new features is planned to be rolled out to users in the upcoming weeks and will be available to iPhone and Android applications as well as the website.

While users who are muted will not appear in the tweet timeline of the follower, muted users will still be able to direct message a follower. Unlike the Block user function that allows users to completely block followers, which goes as far as making the user profiles invisible, while on mute users will still be able to see the muted user's profiles, interact with their followers directly and will not know that the uses has them muted from their feed.

As Twitter is constantly rolling out functions and features that allow users to have a better experience with the app and their social media environment, critics still question the true need for Mute. From the user's standpoint, if someone does not want to see specific follower's tweets in their timeline, they can always unfollow them. However, from the polite standpoint, this feature allows users to maintain the appearance of a “following" relationship, while at the same time enjoy the freedom from interaction. It's kind of like social media's version of being two faced with added benefits.

  • Uber Leading Innovation

  • Mobile Market Share 2014