Twitter Block vs Mute: Know the Difference

‘I have muted that person’. ‘Ugh! His tweets are stupid, I can’t block him. I will have to mute him.’ Are tweets like this part of your Twitter timeline? If yes, you might be wondering what’s mute and how is it different from block.

My dear friend, grab a cup of coffee. We are going to explore in depth the differences between Twitter mute and block.

Fasten your seat-belts!

What does Block Mean?

Similar to the other social networks and chat apps, block on Twitter also stops all communication from the blocked person. When you block someone on Twitter, they won’t be able to follow you, see your tweets, tweet to you, retweet your tweets or DM you.

If they try to view your profile using your username, Twitter will display a message that says, “You are blocked from following this account.” Basically, the other person will straightaway know that you have blocked them.

Thankfully, Twitter has a friendly alternative to block. Yup, we are talking about the mute feature.

What is Mute on Twitter?

Mute is considered one of the coolest features of Twitter. It is a less severe form of block. When you mute someone, they will be able to see your tweets, follow you (in case, they don’t), tweet to you, retweet your tweets and even DM you. However, their tweets and retweets become invisible to you.

Meaning, if you follow them, their tweets and retweets disappear from your timeline. While they can still interact with your tweets, you won’t be notified about any action depending on whether you follow them or not (more on that below). It’s just like they exist in your profile but their existence is not noticeable to you at all.

And the best part … they will never know that you have muted them. Your profile will seem normal to them. The only thing that might create some suspicion is the fact that you never reply to them. Mute basically blocks tweets from appearing on your timeline without unfollowing or notifying the other person.

And the best part … they will never know that you have muted them

Reasons To Use Block

You may be wondering why someone would choose to mute instead of simply using the block feature. There are many reasons for it:

1. Your friend is going on a tweetstorm about a topic that you loathe.
2. Your friend is live-tweeting an event hijacking your entire timeline.
3. You don’t like a certain person but unfollowing or blocking them would be considered rude.

And so on…

Now that you know what is mute and block, here are the significant differences between the two.

Difference Between Mute and Block

Timeline – Tweets and Retweets

When you block someone, your entire timeline shuts off for them. They won’t be able to see a single tweet of yours (when they are logged in). And neither would you.

If you have a private profile, this completely restricts your profile to them. If, however, you have a public profile, they will be still able to see your timeline by simply logging out from their own profile. But, yes, not from their own profile.

When it comes to mute, your tweets will normally appear on their profile but you won’t see their tweets or retweets on your timeline (in case you follow them). Your timeline will be free of their tweets.

In short, if you block someone, they cannot see your tweets but if you mute a user, they can still see your tweets.

Interaction – Mention, Quote, Favorite

Since blocking involves completely restricting the profiles, neither you nor the blocked user will be able to interact with each other.

On the other hand, muted users will be able to interact with you. They can DM you, favorite, retweet, mention and even quote your tweets. But whether you will be notified about that depends on the condition that whether you follow them or not (more about this below).

However, since their tweets cannot directly appear on your timeline, you won’t be able to favorite or quote their tweets. But, if you go to their profile or tweet to them using their handle, you can interact with them.

Notifications

Two cases arise when it comes to notifications regarding muted accounts. If you follow them and they mention you or retweet/like your tweet, you will get a notification. Meaning, replies and mentions that include your handle by the muted account will appear in your Notifications tab.

But if you don’t follow the muted account, you won’t be disturbed by their notifications. Even if they mention or reply to you, it will not appear in your Notifications tab.

When it comes to block, well, since they cannot see your profile at all, there is no question of notifications. If you think about it, muting someone is akin to giving them the silent treatment. Not good for your relationship! 🙂

Follow and Unfollow

When you block a person who follows you, Twitter will automatically remove the user from your followers. And if you block a person who doesn’t follow you, it’s obvious that they cannot follow you.

However, things are different for mute. Muting an account will not cause you to unfollow them and neither will they be removed from your followers. Similarly, muted accounts can follow you and you can follow muted accounts. After following, above conditions for the timeline, interaction, and notifications will still apply though.

These were the major differences between block and mute. Some of you may still have more queries regarding them. We have tried to answer a few of them here.

Does Twitter Notify You When You Get Blocked or Muted?

Nope. It doesn’t send a proper notification in either case. But if a blocked user visits your profile, they will be greeted by the ‘You have been blocked’ message. Oops!

On the other hand, a person will never know that you have muted them. Even if they visit your profile, no message will be shown to them.

How to Tell If You’ve Been Blocked or Muted

Well, the only way to tell if you have been blocked is to visit the other user’s profile. If you are welcomed by the ‘You have been blocked’ message, you have your answer right there.

However, unless you directly confront the person, there is no way to know whether someone has muted you or not.

Can You Block a Muted Person and Vice Versa

Yup, you can block a muted person. But you cannot mute a person if you have blocked them. You have to unblock them to mute them.

Phew! We hope you understood the difference between the two. In case you are wondering how to mute and block users, here are your answers.

How to Mute a Profile

Step 1: Open the Twitter profile that you want to mute and go to their profile page. Tap the three-dot icon.

Step 2: Select Mute from the menu. You will get a pop-up. Tap Yes, I’m sure.

How to Unmute a Profile

To unmute a profile, visit their profile page and tap Unmute next to ‘You have muted Tweets from this account’. Choose Unmute from the pop-up on the next screen.

How to Block a Profile

Step 1: Go to the profile page of the account that you want to block. Tap the three-dot icon.

Step 2: Select Block from the menu. You will get a pop-up. Tap Block to confirm.

How to Unblock a Profile

Step 1: Open Twitter and go to Settings. Hit Privacy and safety.

Step 2: Under Safety, tap Blocked accounts. On the next screen, tap the Blocked option next to the profile that you want to unblock. That’s it.

Mute or Block

Since there are significant differences between mute and block, make your choice carefully. And, if you have more queries regarding mute or block, you know who to ask. The comment box is right below.