Twitter links missing usernames in iOS replies to testing gaffe

Twitter is apologizing for brief problems with its iOS app on Thursday, which stripped @names from replies, making some conversations — especially those with multiple people — inherently confusing.

The company blamed the problem on an experiment it accidentally pushed out to all iOS users. It added. however, that it received "helpful feedback," presumably on whether or not it should roll the change out to all Twitter users.

Many responses to the company have been negative, suggesting that it will probably drop the tweak, or at least alter its implementation if and when it's intentionally pushed out to the general public.

Today, an experiment around replies accidentally went out to everyone on iOS briefly. Upside, we got helpful feedback - we're listening!
— Twitter Support (@Support) December 9, 2016

Twitter regularly tests new features with smaller groups, pushing them out to individual accounts or platforms. It can often target the latter without requiring an app update thanks to the way its software is structured.