Quit hitting refresh: Twitter is testing a subscribe to tweet replies feature

By Emily Price Published August 12, 2019

You’ve been able to ask Twitter to send you a push notification when a particular user sends out a new tweet for a while now. Soon you might be able to get a push notification when a tweet has been replied to as well.

Twitter is currently testing a new feature that will allow users to turn on notifications for a particular thread. The way it works is similar to how the feature works for traditional tweets. With it, you’ll opt into getting notified when someone responds to a tweet, and when someone does, you’ll get a push notification letting you know, TechCrunch reports.

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You’ll also have a few options as far as subscribing to those tweets. You can choose to get all of the replies to the tweet, or only the top replies, which will be those from the author, anyone they mentioned, and the people that you follow.

Twitter is currently testing the feature with select users on iOS and Android, so you may or may not have the option yet.

If you do, you’ll see a bell icon on the top right side of the app when you open up a tweet. To set up notifications, tap on that bell and a small menu will pop up at the bottom of the screen allowing you to select what specific type of notifications you’ll receive.

https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1159593626294525954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1159593626294525954&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2019%2F08%2F12%2Ftwitters-latest-test-lets-users-subscribe-to-a-tweets-replies%2F

The new notification feature isn’t the only change in recent months.

In July, Twitter started rolling out a few design changes for its desktop app. That redesign ultimately made the desktop version of Twitter look a lot more like the app version. It’s a change that angered a number of users, and even prompted a Chrome extension that restores Twitter back to its original form.

Twitter said that the updated desktop app increases speed, while allowing new features, perhaps such as this reply notification, roll out faster.

“New Twitter” was the first major redesign of the desktop version of the service in seven years.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Emily is a freelance writer based in San Francisco. Her book "Productivity Hacks: 500+ Easy Ways to Accomplish More at…

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