In the most recent move to solve its ongoing abuse problem, Twitter is reportedly set to upgrade the mute function to give users more control over what they see.

Hide and don't seek

While users are currently able to block or mute others, neither feature can stop repeat offenders creating new accounts and hitting back at their victims.

Twitter's solution to this workaround is a keyword filter that would allow users to outright block unsavoury words or phrases.

A version of this feature has been available on TweetDeck and some third-party apps for some time, but none carry over to Twitter.com or the company's mobile apps.

Blink and you miss it

The obvious problem with a keyword filter is that it still forces users to deal with abusers themselves, and it will only be as thorough as they choose.

Although abusers will not know what keywords have been muted, they may be able to get around the filter with intentional spelling mistakes – if not new words.

Twitter has reportedly built the concept over the past year, and it remains to be seen when it could be announced.