X removing the block feature

image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/FdDkfYFHqe4

On Friday, Elon Musk made the bold announcement that Twitter, now called X, would remove the longstanding feature for users/accounts to block other users – however, the key thing to note at this stage is this is not a change the platform could enact quickly or easily and some form of block or stronger mute would need to remain in place.

THE KEY INFO:

 The Twitter/X owner said the block function "makes no sense" - adding that it will only be possible to block someone from sending direct messages. The change would mean users would only be able to mute individuals, which allows someone to remove another account's posts from their timeline, without unfollowing or blocking them.

However, it's worth noting that removing any kind of block functionality from Twitter/X entirely would be difficult, as Google and Apple's app stores require the ability to block abusive users from the service. 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

As the user community app notes on his tweets are already pointing out, blocking is a basic online safety feature for social media users, which protects people from harassment, abuse, stalking and more. Removing any feature like this could compromise the safety of users.

In response, software engineers at Twitter/X have subsequently noted that the key to this change would be making the mute function more robust, instead of removing a safety feature like this completely.

HOW COULD THIS AFFECT YOU?

Any removal or change to the block feature could have an impact when sharing more sensitive content where we have a duty of care to protect case studies, customers, and influencers, so this is one we will continue to monitor closely to ensure that robust safety features for users on Twitter/X remain in place over the coming months.