Twitter Tests: Up & Down Vote Button & Voice Transformer

Twitter is testing two significant features which includes up and down vote buttons in the beta phase for research on relevance of replies and a voice tool for Spaces.

The up and down vote buttons test was announced by Twitter and the voice tool development was announced by the Spaces team. Here's more about the recent developments:

Voice Transformer

Voice Transformer is a tool being developed for Spaces, a feature that enables users to partake in live audio conversations. In essence, Voice Transformer for Spaces is what Filters are for images. The development was shared by Danny Singh, from the Research & Strategy team of Twitter and Spaces.

The tool helps the user enhance, amplify, alter, or finetune the speaker's voice. A speaker can change how the audience hears them through the multiple options that vary from being amplified to the playful one that transforms the voice to what it would sound like when one speaks after inhaling helium gas.

The feature would be helpful for speakers who wish to maintain anonymity, it would also aid brands and professionals on Spaces to save up on paid software that enhances or finetune the audio, whilst adhering to a standard of quality output.

Currently, being developed for Spaces, the tool possesses use case applications for various audio-based features such as the recently launched (in select countries including India) 'Voice Notes' in direct messages, and Voice Tweets, previously discovered in the testing phase.

Also Read: Twitter updates Transparency Center with new data

Dislike Button

Currently testing on iOS for research purposes, Twitter is testing upvotes and downvotes (dislike button) to know the relevance of replies on a Thread, and will be working on ways to show more relevant replies to users. Upvotes will be visible as likes, and downvotes would be visible only to the user, and votes would not change the order of replies.

The platform specifically mentions that 'This is not a dislike button', but the functionality of this addition remains to be of a user expressing they dislike a reply. Downvotes on YouTube or Reddit, platforms that have had the functionality for years are commonly also cited as dislike.

While the addition gives more way for users to express how they feel about a reply, the functionality can also be abused as the platform has had instances of trolling or bullying in the past. The downvotes wouldn't be publicly visible, but it can be viewed by the user, potentially affecting their digital well-being.