Elon Musk's social network X is considering a new feature that would let users block direct messages from other users, but this would be separate from its account blocking feature. Currently, when you block an account, they can't interact with you in public posts or direct messages (DMs). With this new feature, the company will have two blocking features: one for personal messages and one for public posts.
Yesterday, several app researchers published screenshots showing what DM blocking would look like, with Musk citing one of these posts saying, “DMs will be separate from public posts, so if you want to use the platform for messaging but not public posting, 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 odd because the current version of Direct Messages also allows users to choose not to post and still interact with others through DMs. Another possibility could be another app, but it's not clear if that's what Musk is referring to.
Musk has previously spoken about ambitions to create a “superset” of Signal, meaning all of Signal's features plus add features like end-to-end encryption, meaning separating the behavior of public blocking and DM blocking could be the first step in making X a more robust messaging app for people who don't want to be part of a public social network.
DM has also seen other upgrades recently, including earlier this month when the company rolled out the ability to edit messages sent to someone.
Like many of X's features these days, the DM blocking feature is currently in development, with no details on when it will be released to the public. Under Musk's ownership, X did not respond to a request for comment.