X will soon be changing the functionality behind the block button so that public posts will still be visible to users who block accounts. This is due to changes to X’s website spotted by independent app researcher Nima Owji. Elon Musk acknowledged these changes on Monday, saying that blocked accounts still can’t interact with the user who blocked them, but will soon be able to see their posts.
“The block function will block that account from engaging with, but not block seeing, [a] public post,” said Musk in a tweet on Monday.
Owji told TechCrunch through X’s DM (direct message) that users may soon no longer see the “You’re blocked…” message when visiting the account of a user who has blocked them. Instead, blocked users will see the account’s public posts as if they were the other user. Restrictions will likely still be placed on reposting, quoting, replying, and interacting with blocked accounts. It’s unclear at this time when the changes will take place.
Musk said in a tweet on Monday that “high time this happened.” Previously, if a public account blocked a user, that user could simply log out and still view the public account’s tweets. There was an easy workaround to get around this, but now it appears that X is removing that functionality entirely.
About a decade ago, when X was still called Twitter, the platform made a similar change to its blocking feature, but it was quickly reverted. In 2013, Twitter updated its policies to allow blocked users to view, follow, and even interact with the blocked content. The account that blocked her couldn’t see these interactions, but other accounts could. At the time, Twitter reportedly called an emergency meeting due to backlash against the blocking update, and quickly revised its policies to keep the stronger blocks in place.
Here’s today’s update Social media users often use the block feature to distance themselves from harassers, abusers, and stalkers. New changes to the block feature weaken these barriers.