What are @replies and mentions?

You can join the conversation on Twitter 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.
• Any Tweet that is an @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 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:

• Visiting another user's profile page on Twitter will not display Tweets that mention them. However, 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. You can click People you follow at the top of the Mentions timeline to only display mentions from users you are following.