Twitter is testing a feature that will let you control who can reply to your tweets and keep 'reply guys' at bay

• Twitter announced Wednesday it's testing a new feature that would let you stipulate exactly who can reply to a tweet.
• The feature would let you allow only people mentioned in a tweet to reply to it.
• In a blog announcing the test, Twitter's director of product management implied the feature could be used to curb the behavior of "reply guys."

Twitter is toying with a new feature that could stop annoying randoms replying to your tweets.

The social network announced on Wednesday it was rolling out a test version of a feature which allows users to select who exactly is allowed to reply to a tweet.

Here's how it works: you write your tweet and tag the people you want to be able to reply. Then you tap the "permissions settings" in the bottom left corner. You will then have three options for who can reply, "everyone," only people you follow, or only people you mention.

Twitter is only testing the feature out on a small number of its users, and it may never be rolled out wholesale. "We're exploring how we can improve these settings to give people more opportunities to weigh in while still giving people control over the conversations they start," Twitter's Director of Product Management Suzanne Xie said in a blog post.

Specifically Xie also makes mention of "reply guys," the name given to Twitter users who consistently and annoyingly reply to your tweets — often men weighing in on women's tweets. "Sometimes, unwanted replies make it hard to have meaningful conversations. (Ahem, reply guys.)" Xie writes.