Those who still use X (formerly known as Twitter) regularly should know that the way the block function works has changed. X is rolling out a change to the way blocking works, and this change has made the function much less useful.
Blocking someone on X no longer hides your posts
In September 2024, X owner Elon Musk hinted that a massive change was coming to the block function. In October, the X engineering team confirmed the change. And now, in November, the change to the way blocking works on X is rolling out to all users.
The big change here is that blocking someone no longer means they can’t read your posts. Instead, as long as your account is public, anyone you’ve previously blocked or plan to block can still see your posts.
Technically, they could already do this by switching to another account. But this was an extra step, and it required the blocked person to already have an alternate account. Now, they can continue to see your posts freely on their main account.
So, if blocking someone no longer allows them to see your posts, what does? This is where X has diverged from the norm (every other social network) and set its own unique definition of what it means to block someone.
X is setting its own definition of what it means to block
Essentially, as explained in a post on the X Help Center, blocking someone on X now means that, while they can see everything you post, they can’t engage with you in any way. They can’t even follow you, DM you, add your account to a list, or tag you in a photo.
This is unlike every other social media platform I’ve used, where blocking someone prevents them from seeing anything you post. And that’s another reason many former Twitter/X users have moved to alternative platforms.
And, as some users have pointed out, X’s new definition of what it means to block may go against the Google Play Store and iOS App Store’s terms of service. The latter of these states that any app with user-generated content must include “the ability to block abusive users from the service.”