Twitter Privacy Concepts Tease Check-Ins, Tweet Prompts, And Snoop Alerts

Twitter has been very transparent about some of the concepts it is considering behind closed doors, the latest batch of which revolve around the issue of privacy. Though none of these concepts are features (yet), they do reveal the kind of perspective Twitter is taking when it approaches this topic, including the best ways it can accommodate the varying needs of its users.

The newly revealed concepts come from Twitter designer Lena Emara who explains the potential use cases for each idea. Emara notes that while privacy is an important aspect of the platform for all Twitter users, different people have different needs. These are "very early concepts" at this time and Emara notes they aren't being built at this time.

Multiple concepts are presented, including a simple reminder for those times you have your account protected, simplified account switching that makes it easier to see which account you're tweeting from, a check-in feature that groups various privacy options into 'sets,' as well as the ability to see when someone searches for your username and to remove this discoverability option.

One concept image shows how the potential feature could be used to limit abuse on the platform. For example, a user would (assuming the concept ever became reality) get an alert when Twitter locks accounts that had searched for that user's handle. The prompt would include the option to limit negative interactions by turning off the ability to find your account in search or to prevent your account from appearing under "Who to Follow."

Ultimately, each idea is just that — an idea that isn't in the pipeline to become an actual Twitter feature at this time. However, feedback from the public related to these concepts may help shape them over time, guiding the eventual launch of similar features that'll improve the experience for everyone.