News > Social Media Twitter Experiments With Labels for Bot Accounts Though for the moment the test is by invitation only and strictly voluntary By Rob Rich Rob Rich Twitter News Reporter College for Creative Studies Rob is a freelance tech reporter with experience writing for a variety of outlets, including IGN, Unwinnable, 148Apps, Gamezebo, Pocket Gamer, Fanbolt, Zam, and more. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on September 10, 2021 02:21PM EDT Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr Twitter University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Social Media Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming In an attempt to make "automated accounts" easier to identify, Twitter has begun testing a new account-labeling feature. Twitter's goal is to make it easier for you to know when you might be interacting with a bot account, but (at least for the moment) the test is invitation-only. According to the test's information page, "...automated labels help you identify good bots from spammy ones and are all about transparency." shaunl / Getty Images Automated account labels, in practice, are meant to clearly show that a given account is automated (aka a "bot" account). When activated, the the words "automated account" will appear under the account's profile name and handle on its profile page. However, you still have to either check the profile page or, on desktop, put your cursor over the name to see this label. Thomas Barwick / Getty Images Currently any automated accounts that are invited to take part in the test will need to accept the invitation for the labels to appear. While invitation-only participation makes sense because this is still a test, it's unclear if other accounts will still have to accept the label in the future. If so, then once these labels go public they will likely only affect verified or popular automated accounts, while throwaway bot accounts could remain un-flagged. There's currently no specified date for when automated account labels will finish testing and become a set feature. It could be in a few months or it could be sometime in 2022, but Twitter hasn't stated one way or the other. Regardless, if these labels remain opt-in, they may not be as useful as Twitter is anticipating. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit