Elon Musk’s social network X is exploring a new feature that would allow users to block others from direct messaging them, but in a way that’s separate from the account blocking feature. Currently, when you block an account, that account can’t engage with you through public posts or direct messages (DMs). With the new feature, the company would have two separate blocking functions, one for personal messaging and one for public posting.
Yesterday, a few app sleuths published screenshots of how DM blocks would look. Musk quoted one of these posts and said, “DMs are being decoupled from public posting, so that if you all want to use this platform for messaging, but not post publicly, you can do so.”
DMs are being decoupled from public posting, so that if all you want to do is use this platform for messaging, but not post publicly, you can do so https://t.co/Z1hBwjcYJa
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 11, 2024
This phrasing is strange because even with the current iteration of direct messages, users can choose not to post and still engage with other users through DM. Another possibility here might be a separate app, but it’s not clear that’s what Musk is saying.
In the past, Musk has talked about an ambition to “superset Signal” — that is, have all the functionality of Signal but also more — adding features like end-to-end encryption. It’s possible, then, that separating how public blocks and DM blocks work is an initial step toward making X a more robust messaging app for those who don’t want to engage with its public social network.
DMs have undergone other upgrades recently. Earlier this month, the company released a feature that lets you edit a message for someone, for instance.
As has been the case with a lot of features on X lately, the DM blocking feature is in development, but there are no details about a public rollout. Under Musk’s ownership, X no longer replies to requests for comment.
