News

Blocking Users Is About To Get Tougher On X

The latest move could be about increasing engagement, though it’s hard to ignore the fact that the 2024 US presidential election is looming.

Published

2 years ago

September 24, 2024

Nour Nasir

blocking users is about to get tougher on x

According to the ever-controversial Elon Musk, social media platform X is about to lose its block feature. The CEO confirmed the upcoming change in a reply to Nima Owji, the developer who first reported the news.

High time this happened.

The block function will block that account from engaging with, but not block seeing, public post.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 23, 2024

Since its inception when the site was known as Twitter, the block feature has allowed users to prevent unwanted views and engagement on their public posts. However, when the latest update kicks in, those blocked accounts will once again be able to view all public posts.

Although Musk originally threatened to remove the block feature entirely, the latest tweak to X won’t go that far and will instead mean that blocked users will only be able to view public posts, not engage with them via likes, replies, or reposts.

Also Read: How To Find & Cancel Pending Instagram Requests

Musk’s confirmation of the upcoming changes has been alarming to many users who have faced trolling or stalking on the platform. It will also now be trivially easy to screen-capture and repost content from accounts that were previously invisible due to blocks.

News

YouTube Rolls Out Supervised Children’s Accounts Across MENA

An industry-first feed timer lets parents cap Shorts scrolling. Access can also be switched off entirely ahead of exam season.

Published

12 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Dana Saadeh

YouTube

YouTube has launched supervised kid accounts across the Middle East and North Africa, giving parents a way to hand their children the main YouTube app without handing over all of it. Announced in Dubai on July 2, the accounts are built directly into the platform rather than the standalone YouTube Kids app, and are aimed at families who feel a child has outgrown the curated library but isn’t ready for the open feed.

Parents can choose from three content settings, each broadly aligned with international content ratings. Explore covers educational videos, tutorials, arts and crafts, and dance. Explore More adds gaming and live streams. Most of YouTube opens up almost everything except videos rated 18+ or deemed inappropriate for supervised accounts.

The standout tool is an industry-first Shorts feed timer, which lets parents set daily limits on short-form scrolling. Set it to zero and Shorts disappears altogether – a lever YouTube suggests parents might pull ahead of exam season. Other protections are on by default for all users under 18: “Take a Break” and “Bedtime” reminders, no personalized ad targeting, autoplay switched off, and no ability to upload videos or write comments. The accounts are optional, and parents can end supervision at any time.

The kid accounts join supervised teen accounts already available across the region, which notify parents by email when a teenager uploads a video or starts a live stream.

“YouTube has been a huge part of families’ lives across this region for over 20 years,” said Javid Aslanov, head of YouTube Middle East and North Africa, citing Kantar research showing 95% of viewers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE agree YouTube has top content in education and learning.

Also Read: Tamper With The Recording LED & Meta’s Glasses Kill Camera

“It’s essential that we protect young people in – not from – the digital world,” added Garth Graham, YouTube’s head of health.

The new settings are rolling out gradually across the MENA, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Iraq. The latest features can be set up through Family Center in the YouTube app or via Google Family Link.