The site formerly known as Twitter has finally implemented a change to its blocking functionality that owner Elon Musk has been promising since August 2023.
On Saturday, Nov. 2, X Engineering posted, “Soon we’ll be launching a change to how the block function works.” CNET confirmed this week that the change has happened for multiple test accounts.
Previously, blocking someone on X prevented them from contacting you, following you and viewing your posts. Now, anyone can see your posts, regardless of whether you’ve blocked them or not. A blocked user still can’t interact with you in any way like commenting, reposting or sending you direct messages.
Critics of these changes to X’s blocking policy cite safety concerns, especially related to privacy and targeted harassment. Some suggest the changes to blocking on X might violate the policies of Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.
If you still want to prevent certain users from viewing your posts, you now have two methods. Neither method is great — one is easy and the other extreme. We’ll explain.
First, you could delete your X account
The first option for preventing users from viewing your posts or old tweets is to leave X altogether by deactivating your account and waiting 30 days for it to be deleted. Of course, taking this option means that no one will be able to see your existing posts and that you will no longer be able to post to X.
After deactivating your X account, you have 30 days to change your mind or your account will be permanently deleted.
Keep in mind that if you want to scrub all of your posts from the internet, it’s not easy, thanks to sites like the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. You’ll need to submit requests to have your posts removed from it if you find them on the site, and the request may be denied.
Second, protecting your X posts will limit who can see them
The second option for restricting which users can see your X posts is less rash than deactivating your account, but it will limit your reach and how you interact with others on the platform. Protecting your posts will prevent not only blocked users from viewing your posts, but anyone who’s not following your account, as well as general internet users without X accounts.
When you protect your posts, you also control who can follow your account. You’ll need to manually approve each person who requests to follow you. (Given all of the spam bots on the platform, that may provide a sense of relief.)
A few more reasons to protect your posts include:
- X posts won’t be indexed by search engines like Google
- X posts will only be searchable by you and your followers
One big downside of protecting your posts is that your replies to other X posts will only appear to your followers. You’ll still be able to reply to any open account on X, but anyone who isn’t one of your followers won’t see it.
How to lock down your posts on X
It only takes a minute to limit your posts to your approved followers, but the process is a little different depending on whether you’re accessing X from a web browser or a mobile app.
From the web:
1. Log into your X account
2. Click the More option
3. Select Settings and privacy
4. Click Privacy and safety
5. Click Audience, media, and tagging
6. Click the checkbox next to Protect your posts.
From your phone (iOS and Android):
1. Tap your profile icon
2. Tap Settings and Support
3. Tap Settings and privacy
4. Tap Privacy and safety
5. Tap Audience and tagging
6. Tap to toggle Protect your posts on
That’s it! Once you’ve protected your account, users you’ve blocked won’t be able to see any of your posts, nor will any users who don’t follow you.
For more, check out how to delete all of your embarrassing Twitter posts.
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