Microblogging site Twitter is set to make its ‘Hide Replies’ feature available to its developers. Twitter will let developers access its Hide Replies so that they can create tools that will help the feature to be more efficient and quick, Twitter stated. According to the company, this will help curb the menace of online trolls on the site.

Twitter rolled out its Hide Replies feature last November. The feature was developed to contain online trolls. It allows users to decide the comments they want to keep behind.

Twitter wants to make its Hide Replies feature more coherent for accounts that get too many to replies and it is not possible for them to monitor every tweet. The developers will create tools that will automatically hide contentious tweets based on factors mentioned by the users such as -- tweets that include certain prohibited keywords or those that score high for being toxic, for example. Developers will create tools by using the new Application Program Interface (API) endpoint.

Jigsaw, an Alphabet-owned company that monitors the noxious content on the web, has integrated Twitter’s new endpoint with its Perspective API, which uses AI to score tweets based on their toxicity. The integration will automatically hide replies that exceed a certain toxic threshold (.94). This will save time for the users who currently have to sift through the comments to hide replies, TechCrunch reported.

Developers can participate to access Twitter’s latest APIs through Twitter Developer Labs. Interested developers have to sign up using an approved developer account. Developers can also collaborate with the microblogging site through its community forums to build new endpoints.

‘Hide Replies’ in controversy

Hide Replies is one of the most controversial feature that Twitter has launched to date. Critics say that it stifles dissent and give unwarranted power to individuals who have a wider reach. They also mention that the feature does not really address the problem of online abuse as it is present in the shadows, TechCrunch reported.