Elon Musk, the US billionaire, stated Friday (August 18) that X, formerly Twitter, will no longer enable users to block others on the microblogging network.
In response to a user’s question about muting someone, Musk stated that blocking as a feature will be abolished entirely.
“It makes no sense,” wrote Elon Musk on X.
“Block is going to be deleted as a “feature”, except for DMs,” Elon Musk added.
What is the blocking feature on X?
“Blocking” is defined as a mechanism for regulating interactions with other users on X, the microblogging platform. It allows users to restrict specific accounts from contacting, seeing, or following them.
This tool is frequently used to remove spammers, trolls, abuses, and stalking on social media.
Elon Musk proposes alternatives to the ‘block’ function
Later posts by Elon Musk suggested that instead of blocking, users might utilize the “mute” option.
He said, “You can still mute accounts and block users for DMs.”
Now, it is important to understand that the mute feature “allows you to remove an account’s posts from your timeline without unfollowing or blocking that account. Muted accounts will not know that you’ve muted them and you can unmute them at any time.”
Muted accounts, unlike blocked accounts, can still access and comment on your posts, but their content will not appear on your timeline.
Users can also make their accounts private, giving them control over who can see and respond to their posts.
The company clarifies, “By default, your Tweets are public; anyone can view and engage with them. With protected Tweets, you’ll receive follower requests that you can approve or decline.”
And the renovations continue…
This is Musk’s latest move since acquiring control of the corporation in 2022.
Notably, he renamed Twitter as “X” and phased away traditional verified checkmarks, leaving only “Twitter Blue” subscribers with verification. Other features, like post-editing and the ability to hide the verification badge, were included as bonuses with the $8 monthly subscription.
As the potential removal of the block feature looms, it appears that Musk’s overhaul of the platform once known as Twitter is far from complete.