What are @Replies and Mentions?

Twitter is about consuming interesting information, but it's also about joining the conversation by replying to others and by mentioning them in your own Tweets. For information on how to post @replies and mentions, click here.

What is an @reply?

• An @reply is any update posted by clicking the "Reply" button on a Tweet.  
• Your reply will always begin with @username (insert username of the person you are replying to). Any Tweet that is a reply to you begins with your username and will show up in your Mentions tab on the Connect page.

What is a mention?

• A mention is any Twitter update that contains "@username" anywhere in the body of the Tweet. (Yes, this means that @replies are also considered mentions.)
• We collect these messages, as well as all your @replies, in the Mentions tab on the Connect page. 
• If you include more than one person's name in your Tweet and you use the @username format, all of those people will see the Tweet in their personal Mentions tab.

If I see an @reply in my timeline, how do I know what Tweet they replied to?

Click on the Tweet and it will expand to display the Tweet they replied to. You'll also see other content related to the Tweet.

Things to note:

• When you visit another user's profile page on Twitter, you will not see their mentions. But you can search for all Tweets mentioning their username in the Search box. Search for "@username" to view results.
• People will only see others' @replies in their Home timeline if they are following both the sender and recipient of the reply.
• People will see any mentions posted by someone they follow (all mentions are treated like regular Tweets).
• People with protected Tweets can only send @replies to their approved followers.
• If someone sends you an @reply and you are not following the user, the reply will not appear on your Tweets timeline. Instead, the reply will appear in your Mentions tab.
• @Replies will always have "in reply to @username" listed at the bottom of the Tweet. If a Tweet doesn't have this, it's a mention.