Twitter now known as X is a popular social media platform that we have been using for years to get all the latest updates and trends on the Internet. We want to control on the contents that we see on Twitter or who can connect with us because someone’s tweet may be toxic and annoying for us. To go with this Twitter provides with two options i.e., block a user or mute them.
Now the question comes up to your mind: should I mute them or block them? I remember me being confused once as I was unsure on how both the options works. It is important for us to understand the difference between muting and blocking on twitter to manage our twitter account better as we want.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through what muting and blocking really mean, how they work, when you should use block and when to use mute option on Twitter.
What Does Muting Mean on Twitter?
Muting is an option that allows you to stop seeing the tweets and replies of users in your timeline without blocking them or them knowing. The person whom you mute would still be able to follow you, see your tweets, like your tweets and reply them. You can also connect with them and text them if required as you won’t have unfollowed or block them.
The best thing about muting is that the other user won’t know that you have muted them and still avoid their tweets and have a clean timeline on Twitter. You won’t see posts that negatively affects you and hurts your sentiments in any way.
What Does Blocking Mean on Twitter?
Blocking is very much different to muting. When someone blocks you or you block someone on Twitter you would automatically be unfollowed and would have no means of connection with the blocked users. You won’t be able to follow them, text them, like their tweets or reply them if blocked.
The important thing to note about blocking is that, the user whom you’ve blocked would know that you’ve blocked them unlike muting on Twitter. When someone tries visiting your profile, it would be shown as you are blocked.
Difference Between Muting and Blocking on Twitter
While both these options provides similar results and you may feel that both are same, there is a huge differnce between them. The kew difference is that blocking completely cuts off you interaction and connection with the users, while muting is just a option to avoid users and their tweets where you can still connect with them when you want.
When you block someone, the user would be able to know that you’ve blocked them when they visit your profile, but when you mute someone, you can still connect and interact with the users and perfrom all the action like that or normal account.
How to Mute Someone on Twitter
The process to mute someone on Twitter is easy and simple.
Step 1: Open the Twitter app on your mobile.
Step 2: Visit the profile of the user you want to block.
Step 3: Tap on the three dots next to the username.
Step 4: Select Mute option from the menu.
Step 5: Tap on Confirm to apply the change and mute the account.
You won’t see the tweets of the users on your Timeline, however you can still see them on their profile when you visit their profile.
How to Block Someone on Twitter
The process to block someone on Twitter is similar to that of muting an account and it is simple and wasy.
Step 1: Open the Twitter app on your mobile and login to your account.
Step 2: Go to the profile of the user you want to block.
Step 3: Tap on the three dots on their profile page.
Step 4: Select Block option from the menu.
Step 5: Confirm your selection to block the user.
When you block them, they won’t be able to interact with you in any means and the entire connection would be entirely cut off.
Can the Other Person Know If You Muted or Blocked Them?
As already stated, other users would know know that you’ve muted them as everything remains the same for the user. Their tweets and replies would only be hidden and won’t appear on your timeline, however you can still see them on their profile.
In contrast to muting option, the users wom you’ve blocked would be able to know that you’ve blcoked them when they visit your profile. Though the user won’t get a notification about being blocked, they won’t be able to interact with you and whrn they visit your profile they would know that you’ve blocked them.
When Should You Mute vs Block?
If someone is harassing or threatening you and you feel unsafe or uncomfortable with them want to completely cut off the interaction, Blocking is the best option for you in this case.
In contrast to this, if you just want to avoid the tweets and replies of users on your timeline as you may not like the type of tweets or topics they post to stay peaceful, Muting would be the go to option for you in this case.
In short, if you don’t like certain lines of a song you can turn down the volume on your mobile. If you don’t want to listen the song completely you can close the music app itself. The same is with muting and blocking. If you just want temporary disconnection, go for muting but if you want complete disconnection, block the user.
Final Thoughts
The working of both muting and blocking on twitter may be different, and both are correct on their own. It just depends on what you want and use the options accordingly.
If you just want a clean timeline and breal from their tweets and replies, mute. If you dont want them to contact your and want to compltely avoid and remove the user, block.