The days of seeing the “@[insert username] blocked you” on X, formally Twitter, are coming to an end. X owner Elon Musk recently announced a significant change to the platform’s block button feature, allowing blocked users to view the posts of those who blocked them.
This change will be a major shift for the platform, sparking debates about privacy and user control.
X users have also begun receiving pop-up notifications alerting them to the upcoming change. The message states, “Block is changing soon. If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them but they will not be able to engage. For more control over who can see your posts, you can still protect your account.”
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The core of the change is that while blocked accounts still won’t be able to interact with those who blocked them, they will now have visibility into the posts of these accounts.
Previously, blocked users were entirely prevented from viewing any activity, replies, or media from the accounts that blocked them.
Why is the Change Happening?
This update may be in response to the fact that blocked users can already bypass restrictions by simply viewing public posts from another account or even by logging out. By removing the restriction on viewing, X is altering how users engage with the block function.
Musk’s desire to modify or even remove the block feature isn’t new. Over a year ago, he openly expressed his dislike for the blocking function on the platform (then still Twitter), with the exception of its use in direct messages. He argued that blocking “makes no sense” and hinted that it might be removed entirely.
In May of this year, X’s Engineering account confirmed that the block button would undergo changes. Though no precise rollout date was given, the change was intended to give users the ability to “identify and report any potential bad content that you previously could not view,” even if they had been blocked by the account in question.
Potential Violations of App Store Policies
This update has led to concerns about whether X will still comply with app store policies, particularly those set by Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store.
Both platforms require social media apps to provide features that block abusive users as part of their terms of service. Apple’s guidelines explicitly state that platforms must “offer the ability to block abusive users from the service.”
With this new change, X could risk falling short of this requirement, as blocked users will still be able to see public posts.
Should Apple or Google deem X in violation of their guidelines, the platform may face penalties, including potential removal from the app stores. Such an outcome would be disastrous for X, which is already struggling with decreasing user growth and advertising revenue.
While the full implications of this change remain unclear, the move by Elon Musk has once again positioned X at the center of a heated debate about user privacy, control, and the balance between free speech and protection from abuse on social media.
