Elon Musk‘s latest tweak to Twitter, the former name of what he now calls X: Users will no longer be able to block other accounts — as Musk claims the feature “makes no sense.”
“Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs,” the tech mogul posted on X Friday. “Makes no sense.”
X/Twitter describes block as “a feature that helps you control how you interact with other accounts on Twitter. This feature helps people in restricting specific accounts from contacting them, seeing their Tweets, and following them.” Blocking other accounts is useful if someone is harassing, threatening or stalking you on the platform.
Among those weighing in on Musk’s pronouncement was Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter, who approved of the decision: “💯. mute only,” Dorsey posted in reply to Musk.
Instead of using the “block,” Musk suggested that X users can use the mute feature instead. Currently, however, the social network’s mute button simply removes an account’s posts from your timeline without unfollowing or blocking that account — whereas blocking an account prevents that account from viewing your public posts on X. When you “mute” X/Twitter accounts, they are still able to reply to your public posts (you just don’t get notifications, and replies are hidden from your view by default).
Musk has previously disparaged Twitter’s block function. In June, he posted, “Blocking public posts makes no sense. It needs to be deprecated in favor of a stronger form of mute,” although he didn’t elaborate on what a “stronger form of mute” might entail.
It’s unclear if Musk’s move to do away with the block feature will mean that any accounts a user has blocked previously will suddenly become unblocked. Reps for X/Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
Alternatively, an X user can set their account to “private,” which allows them to control who can view and respond to their posts. “When you sign up for Twitter, your Tweets are public by default; anyone can view and interact with your Tweets,” the company explains on its help site. “If you protect your Tweets, you’ll receive a request when new people want to follow you, which you can approve or deny.”
Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and currently the wealthiest person in the world. He became the owner of Twitter in October 2022 after closing a debt-heavy $44 billion deal for the company (and promptly firing top execs and then laying off about 80% of Twitter’s personnel).
Earlier this year, Musk hired former NBCUniversal ad boss Linda Yaccarino as CEO of X/Twitter. However, he has said that he will continue to oversee X’s product and technology teams, while Yaccarino is in charge of advertising and business operations.
VIP+ Mogul Memo: Twitter/X CEO Yaccarino, Expect the Unexpected
