Twitter tests asking users if they'd like to 'rethink' harmful language

Twitter is about to start experimenting with asking some users if they think that tweet of theirs is really such a great idea.

The social media company on Tuesday said it's running a "limited experiment" on iOS that will give Twitter users the option of revising a reply before it's posted if it "uses language that could be harmful." Reuters reports that when users hit send on one of these replies, they'll be told whether they've used words similar to ones that have been reported in the past and asked if they would like to revise the tweet.

"We're trying to encourage people to rethink their behavior and rethink their language before posting because they often are in the heat of the moment and they might say something they regret," Sunita Saligram, Twitter's global head of site policy for trust and safety, told Reuters.

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Instagram previously began notifying users if they're posting a comment that might be offensive, The Verge notes. The company says the results of that feature have been "promising, and we've found that these types of nudges can encourage people to reconsider their words when given a chance," per TechCrunch.

This comes after Twitter, which has faced calls to take additional steps toward combating harassment, last year rolled out the ability to hide replies, saying at the time, "we need to change how conversations work on our service." Twitter's experiment will reportedly last for several weeks.