X’s (Twitter’s) ‘block’ feature to be deleted – Elon Musk

Elon Musk, the owner of X responded to a post on the platform today, hinting at the potential removal of the block feature.

Elon Musk stated, “Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature,’ except for DMs. Makes no sense.” This reply was directed at a Tesla fan account that inquired whether there was any advantage to using block instead of mute.

Many users view block as a safety measure. The mere suggestion that the block feature might follow the fate of the platform’s previous verification system triggered a wave of concern from users.

Twitter provides various tools for users to control their experience, including blocking, as detailed on its help page. Blocking enables individuals to prevent specific accounts from contacting them, viewing their tweets, and following them. Even if another account has blocked you, you can still block other accounts.

Though Mute might continue to exist, it functions differently from block. Block restricts other users from interacting with, seeing, and following an account, while mute merely conceals your posts from their feed. Users are unaware when they’ve been muted. Musk also clarified that the block feature will persist for direct messages.

Blocking has grown increasingly important for many users due to the rise of spam replies on their timeline. Prior backlash prompted some users to block X Blue/Twitter Premium accounts when the feature began favoring their responses over those of non-paying users. Numerous public figures have also turned to blocking to counteract harassment on their feed.

The fate of this feature and when it might become obsolete are uncertain. Musk has been known to reverse his decisions before implementation. For instance, a day after announcing the removal of the platform’s light mode option, he changed his mind, stating, “A lot of people have asked to keep light mode, so we will, but the default will be dark, and dim will be deleted.”