How to Mute X (formerly Twitter) Users and Create a Muted Words List

Mute a person or a word to make your time less stressful

By

Updated on April 18, 2024

The X (formerly Twitter) mute feature is designed to control the content that appears in your X timeline, filter your notifications, and protect you from internet trolls and online harassment.

What Happens When You Mute Someone on X?

When you mute someone on X, they continue to see tweets posted by the account that muted them and can like, retweet, and comment on them. Muted users can also send a DM, or direct message, to you.

While a muted account can interact with your X account, X hides these interactions from you. You won't see their likes, retweets, or comments in your X notifications or DMs from them in your X inbox.

Muted users count toward your total follower count (if they follow you), and their interactions with your tweets contribute to the total number of tweet likes and retweets.

How to Mute Someone on X

You can mute another user on X from their profile or one of their tweets in your timeline. The following instructions work with the official X apps on Windows 10, Android, and iOS devices, as well as the web version of X in an internet browser.

To mute an X account from their profile page, select the gear icon next to their profile picture, and then tap Mute.
To mute someone on X from one of their tweets, select the small arrow in the upper-right corner of the tweet, and tap Mute.

How to Use the X Muted Words List

In addition to muting user accounts, you can mute words and phrases on X by adding them to the Muted words list. After adding a word or phrase to your Muted words list, any tweet containing them is hidden from you when you view your timeline.

Log in to X and access your profile. Swipe right on the app or select More on the web and choose Settings and privacy.
Select Content preferences in the X app. In a web browser, choose Mute and Block.
Select Muted.
Select Muted words.
Select Add to add a word or phrase to your Muted words list.
Enter the word or phrase. Then, choose whether to hide it from your timeline and notifications by tapping on the relevant options. You can also choose whether to hide it when it's used by anyone on X or by people you don't follow.

Select Duration to mute a word forever, one day, a week, or a month. Use these options to temporarily hide specific content, such as TV show spoilers, for a short time.
When you finish, select Save.

You can add as many words and phrases to the Muted words list as you want. To unmute a word or phrase, go to the Word list and tap it. Then, tap Delete word at the bottom of the screen.

While the Muted words list isn't case-sensitive, it doesn't account for word variations. For example, to mute all references to Spider-Man, add SpiderMan, Spiderman, and even Peter Parker as individual entries.

To unmute someone on X, repeat the steps for how to mute someone, and then select Undo. If the target account has been muted, the Mute option appears as Unmute.

Who Has Muted Me on X?

Muted X users don't know that they've been muted by someone else as the feature doesn't stop you from interacting with an account. It prevents the person who muted you from seeing your interactions with them.

Who to Mute on X

Here are some reasons why you may choose to mute another X user:

An overenthusiastic follower: It's great to have loyal X followers who like and retweet some of your tweets. However, if they like and retweet all your tweets, it can get overwhelming, and it can be a good idea to mute them. This way, they can still follow you and interact with your content, but you aren't notified every time they do so.
Internet trolls: Blocking internet trolls for harassing you online can seem like a logical solution until the trolls realize they've been blocked by viewing your X profile. Muting these toxic accounts is the best option. They'll have no idea you can't see their interactions, so they won't create duplicate accounts or contact you on other social networks or by email.
Friends and family: As much as you love your friends and family, you may not want to see their political or opinionated tweets in your X timeline. Unfollowing or blocking them could cause untold drama, so muting is the way to go. They'll still see you as following their account, and you won't see anything they tweet.

Are Mute and Block the Same on X?

Muting someone on X lets the user see and interact with your tweets but hides their interactions from you. Blocking someone hides their interactions from you and prevents them from viewing your tweets, media, and profile.

Users can't tell when you mute them. However, blocked X users can tell because X notifies them of their blocked status when they view your profile or send you a DM.

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for letting us know!

Tell us why!