Twitter restores suicide prevention feature

Twitter has reinstated its suicide prevention feature after it was temporarily removed and faced criticism from users and consumer safety groups.

The feature, which directs users searching for certain types of content to suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources, is available under the #ThereIsHelp banner at the top of search results.

The feature also lists contacts for organisations in multiple countries that deal with issues such as mental health, HIV, vaccines, child sexual exploitation, Covid-19, gender-based violence, natural disasters, and freedom of expression.

The head of Twitter's Trust and Safety, Ella Irwin, confirmed that the feature's removal was not permanent and that the company was simply revamping and improving its prompts. Irwin also stated that they were aligning their approach with Google's for better search results.