Twitter Makes Following Accounts Easier With New Connect Tab

A new Connect tab on Twitter Inc's mobile app makes it easier for people to find accounts to follow, the social network said on Tuesday as it launched the new feature to attract more users.

The tab suggests a list of accounts based on those already followed, as well as popular ones in the area, product manager Ricardo Castro said in a blog post on the company's website.

"To give you the best recommendations - which we'll continue to refine over time - we look at who you already follow, tweets you like, popular accounts in your local area, what's happening in the world right now, and more. We'll also let you know exactly why we're showing you each recommendation," Castro said.

Users can choose to automatically sync their address books to connect with friends and family with the tab, he said. 

The new tab will replace and reside in the same place as the earlier "Find people" tab, that was divided into two sections: tailored, depending on your interactions and popular, which displays suggestions based on different categories.You could previously see your phone contacts separately, but those will now be integrated into the new Connect tab for a more cohesive appearance.

Twitter, led by co-founder Jack Dorsey, has been striving to improve its interface as its growth has lagged those of social media rivals Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google.

This marks another attempt by the beleaguered tech company to get users to more spend more time on the website, as it reported a stall in user growth last week and tried to differentiate itself from other "social networks" thereafter.

Twitter's base grew modestly to 310 million monthly active users in the quarter ended March 31 from 305 million in the fourth quarter.

Written with inputs from Reuters