Musk says X, formerly Twitter, will remove block feature

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the platform formerly known as Twitter, said on Friday that he plans to remove the ability to block individual accounts.

“Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs,” Musk said in a post on the site now known as X, adding, “It makes no sense.”

He later clarified that users would still be able to mute accounts and block others in direct messaging. The blocking feature for accounts was still available on the social media platform as of Friday afternoon.

However, it is unclear how such a move could impact the app’s presence on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, both of which require platforms with user-generated content to allow for blocking.

The move is the latest in a long line of controversial changes made to the platform since Musk acquired the company for $44 billion last fall. Most apparent has been Twitter’s recent rebrand to X, which has seen the platform ditch its well-known blue bird for the letter “X.”

Musk has also removed various content moderation rules, allowed previously banned individuals back on the platform, and replaced the traditional verification system with a subscription-based system since taking over the company.