X will show posts for accounts that have been blocked by your profile

X (formerly Twitter) announced on Wednesday (16th) a significant change to how the blocking feature works on the platform. Soon, accounts that have been blocked will still be able to see posts from the account that blocked them but will no longer be able to interact—meaning they won’t be able to send replies, comment, or like those posts.

Previously, blocking restricted access entirely: blocked users couldn’t see posts, and interactions from them would be hidden. The new system introduces a major shift in content visibility, with the main change being that blocked users can now view posts, although they cannot engage with them.

This update applies only to public profiles, so users with private accounts will not have their posts shown to blocked individuals. X’s engineering team justifies the change as a move toward greater transparency, arguing that blocking could sometimes be used to share or conceal private or offensive information without the blocked user’s knowledge.

Another controversy

The change to the blocking feature on X (formerly Twitter) sparked a wave of negative reactions, as many users relied on blocking to prevent toxic comments and other offensive actions. Under the previous system, blocked individuals would need to create a secondary profile or ask someone to repost content from a public account to access it. The new system, however, makes it much easier for blocked users to view posts, raising concerns about user safety and harassment.

As a result, many users have migrated to the competing social network Bluesky, which gained popularity, especially among Brazilians, after X was temporarily suspended in the country. Within just 12 hours, Bluesky registered 100,000 new users and even experienced temporary outages on October 17 due to the surge in traffic. This migration highlights growing discontent with X’s recent changes and the appeal of alternative platforms offering better control over interactions.