Elon Musk removes block button because it makes no sense to him!

X, formerly known as Twitter, has introduced many drastic changes over the years. This time, X is preparing to replace its block function with something that has a more limited feature.

Musk rolling out his major Twitter revamp

As part of Elon Musk's Twitter reforms, app researcher Nima Owji reported that Twitter is on the verge of removing the current block button and replacing it with decisively more limited functionality.

While blocked users still won’t be able to interact with the accounts that blocked them, they will now have the ability to view their posts.

Musk himself responded to Owji's report by writing that "High time this happened," which seemingly confirms that a Twitter block button rework is on the way.

Some suggest that this is a sensible move, as blockusers can simply view the same account through incognito mode to side-step the block. But tech commentators have come forth to rebut the statement.

Tom Warren from Verge said;

"Go look at your account in incognito mode and you'll realise you don't see all the posts."

Another key point of contention here is that even if a block is in place, if an account is posting publicly, anyone can still see their content by logging out and viewing their profile. So blocking, in that sense, is largely irrelevant.

But still, block still gives users a means to restrict certain profiles from interacting with them, so it still serves an important purpose.

Musk has been vocal about his desire to remove the block feature on X for some time. Over a year ago, he first criticized the function, suggesting that blocking—outside of direct messages—should be “deleted as a feature,” stating, “It makes no sense.”

Musk has also multiple times suggested a "Mute", which is a better solution than blocking someone in the app, while suggesting that a "stronger mute" could replace blocking all together.

Reactions of the community

Social media reactions to the change have been divided. Some X users have embraced the update, viewing it as a way to streamline their app experience, while maintaining the core function of the block button—controlling who can interact with them. However, others argue that preventing blocked users from seeing their posts is a fundamental aspect of the feature.

With the release of the new feature, the only way for a Twitter user to stop another person from seeing his post is by making their profile private and follow any accounts that they wish to keep in the loop.

But this doesn't seem like a very practical approach for popular, highly followed users to employ.

The change is less extreme than what Musk initially proposed in August 2023, when he announced that the block feature would be "deleted" for everything except direct messages. Critics of the update argue that the real motive behind it is to boost content impressions and user engagement, ultimately driving up advertising revenue on the platform.