Elon's latest X-periment: Blocked users can still stalk your public tweets

'High time this happened' says Musk

Elon Musk has confirmed a change to X that will allow blocked users to view public posts.

The change will mean that if a user blocks someone, their public tweets would still be visible by that account. However, the blocked account would not be able to engage with the post. It's always been possible to view someone's tweets if they've blocked you; just log out or view the withheld tweet in a browser's incognito mode. By being logged out, you can't interact with the post.

It's a faff that's now been done away with.

"High time this happened," Musk said. "The block function will block that account from engaging with, but not block [from] seeing, public post[s]."

This isn't the first time the platform has dabbled with blocking. More than ten years ago, Twitter, as X was formerly known, added the ability for users to view the tweets of accounts that had blocked them and tweet at them, but the activity was hidden from the blocker.

Twitter rolled back the change after an outcry. In a 2013 statement, the biz wrote: "In reverting this change to the block function, users will once again be able to tell that they've been blocked.

"We believe this is not ideal, largely due to the retaliation against blocking users by blocked users (and sometimes their friends) that often occurs. Some users worry just as much about post-blocking retaliation as they do about pre-blocking abuse."

X now plans to change blocking again, although this time engagement with posts will not be permitted.

As we said, there are workarounds for determined users to view posts from accounts that have blocked them. However, the decision to alter how blocking works again could concern account holders and privacy campaigners.

Responses to Musk's message have been mostly negative. One user described it as a "terrible idea," explaining: "The main reasons people block others is for their own safety/privacy. This will also allow trolls to mass report people they disagree with."

It is unclear when the change will be rolled out. We asked X for a timeline and if it had considered the opinion of users against the update. The biz has yet to reply. ®