How to Mass Block on Twitter

Tired of waves of spam bots, coordinated harassment, or just an overwhelming amount of noise flooding your timeline? Manually blocking hundreds of accounts on Twitter is a slow, frustrating process that can feel like a losing battle. This guide cuts through the noise and provides practical, step-by-step methods for mass blocking on X, helping you reclaim your digital space and curate a healthier online experience.

Why Bother with Mass Blocking? It’s About More Than Just Hitting a Button

Mass blocking isn't just a reactive measure, it's a proactive strategy for taking control of your online environment. When you're managing a personal brand or a business account, the quality of your interactions is everything. Here's why this tool is so effective for social media health.

1. Instantly Curb Harassment and Dogpiling

Targeted harassment campaigns, often called "dogpiling," can be overwhelming. One controversial post or reply can attract hundreds of aggressively negative or hateful comments in minutes. Manually blocking these accounts is impossible under that kind of pressure. A mass block strategy allows you to shut down the source of the attack quickly, stopping the flood of notifications and protecting your mental well-being.

2. Eliminate Spam and Bot Networks

Is your every post instantly met with replies promoting crypto scams, NFTs, or shady links? These are often automated bot networks that latch onto popular accounts. By identifying one or two of these accounts and using tools to block them and everyone who likes or follows them, you can often dismantle a large chunk of a spam network in one go, cleaning up your replies for good.

3. Curate a Better Timeline Experience

Your timeline should be a source of information and connection, not stress and frustration. Mass blocking allows you to remove content from accounts that consistently post low-quality, offensive, or irrelevant material. Think of it as pruning a garden. By removing the weeds, you allow the content you actually want to see - from colleagues, customers, and genuine creators in your niche - to flourish.

4. Protect Your Followers and Your Brand

For businesses and creators, managing your brand's reputation is paramount. When harmful accounts reply to your posts, their toxic content becomes visible to your entire audience. By proactively blocking bad actors, you not only protect your brand from unwanted associations but also safeguard your followers from being exposed to hate speech, misinformation, or scams in your comment sections. It signals that you're an active moderator who cares about the health of your community.

The Core Methods for Mass Blocking on X

Because X doesn't offer a native "select all and block" feature, the community has developed two powerful workarounds. Your choice will depend on whether you want a broad, community-driven approach or a hyper-targeted cleanup of specific users.

• Shared Blocklists: This method involves importing a pre-made list of accounts (usually in a .csv file) to block hundreds or thousands of users at once.
• Browser Extensions: These tools add functionality to your web browser, allowing you to mass-block users based on their actions, such as who they follow or which posts they've liked.

Let’s break down how to use each one.

How to Use Shared Blocklists: The "Block Chain" Method

The shared blocklist approach is the fastest way to block a huge volume of accounts that have already been identified as problematic by a trusted community member. It’s a form of community moderation that scales incredibly well.

What is a Shared Blocklist?

A shared blocklist, sometimes called a "block chain," is a simple concept. A user in a specific community (like artists, journalists, activists, or gamers) creates and maintains a public list of accounts known for spam, trolling, or harassment within that community. You can then download and import this list into your own X account, automatically blocking every single user on it. This is extremely effective against botnets and harassment campaigns where many accounts follow the same coordinated patterns.

Step-by-Step Guide to Importing a Blocklist

Importing a list is simple once you know where to look. Here’s exactly how to do it on the desktop version of X:

1. Find a Trusted Blocklist: This is the most important step. Don't just import any list you find. Look for lists shared by well-respected people in your industry or community. These are often shared as a .csv file on platforms like GitHub or dedicated websites. Do a quick search on X for terms like "[Your Niche] blocklist" to find what people are sharing. Remember, you’re trusting someone else's judgment, so choose wisely.
2. Navigate to Your Account Settings:
   • In the left-hand menu on X, click on More, then select Settings and privacy.
   • Go to the Privacy and safety section.
   • Under "Your X activity," click on Mute and block.
   • Choose Blocked accounts.
3. Import the List:
   • Once you're on the "Blocked accounts" screen, click on the Advanced options dropdown menu at the top right.
   • Select Import a list.
   • You will be prompted to attach the .csv file you downloaded in Step 1. Select the file from your computer to upload it.
4. Review and Confirm: X will show you a preview of the accounts included in the list. Skim through them to make sure it looks correct, and then click the Import button to finalize the process. All accounts on the list will now be blocked.

Pros and Cons of Shared Blocklists

• Pros: Incredibly fast and efficient for dealing with large-scale problems. Community moderation helps identify bad actors faster than one person ever could.
• Cons: You might accidentally block people you didn't mean to, as you're inheriting someone else's choices. Blocklists can become outdated if not actively maintained. There's a risk of misuse if list creators aren't careful.

Using Browser Extensions for Targeted Mass Blocking

If you prefer a more surgical approach over the broad-stroke method of blocklists, browser extensions are your best option. These tools give you the power to mass block accounts based on specific, targeted criteria.

When Browser Extensions are the Right Tool

This method is perfect when you identify a very specific source of trouble. For example:

• To block every account that liked a hateful or racist tweet.
• To block all new followers of a known troll or hate account.
• To clean up a search result filled with spam accounts.

Popular Extensions and How They Work

There are several well-regarded browser extensions designed for this purpose. The "Twitter Block Chain" for Google Chrome is a popular example, but similar tools exist for other browsers. Always check the reviews and permissions before installing any extension. They generally work by adding new buttons or options directly into the X interface.

Step-by-Step Example: Blocking All Users Who Liked a Problematic Tweet

Once you've installed a reputable extension, the process is quite intuitive. Here’s a common workflow:

1. Find the Source: Navigate directly to the problematic tweet. This could be a tweet attacking you, spreading misinformation, or simply attracting a lot of bots.
2. Open the "Likes" List: Click on the number next to the heart icon at the bottom of the tweet. This will open a modal window showing a list of every user who liked it.
3. Run the Extension: With a popular extension like Twitter Block Chain, it will add a new button that says "Run Block Chain" directly in that window. Click it.
4. Let it Work: The extension will open a new tab and begin to work automatically. It will go down the list, one by one, and click the "Block" button for you. This is an automated process, so you just need to let the tab run in the background.

Good extensions are built to respect X's rate limits (the number of actions you can perform in a given timeframe). If it senses you’re getting close, it will pause for a few minutes and then automatically resume. This prevents your account from being temporarily restricted.

What About Mass Unblocking?

Sometimes you might be too aggressive with your blocking and need to undo it. For example, if you imported a blocklist and later found out it contained dozens of accounts you actually wanted to follow.

Thankfully, the process is almost as easy, thanks to the same tools. Most browser extensions that offer mass blocking also offer mass unblocking. Here is how the process generally works in reverse:

1. Navigate to your profile page and click on your "Following" or "Followers" list.
2. Find and click the "Run Unblock Chain" or a similar button added by the extension.
3. The tool will then automatically work through your list and unblock anyone who is currently on your blocklist.

This is an easy way to restore access for people who might have been caught in the crossfire of a large blocklist import. You can also manually navigate to your "Blocked accounts" list in the settings, but unblocking thousands one by one would be just as tedious as blocking them. Browser extensions are the far better option here.

Final Thoughts

Mastering the art of the mass block is an incredibly empowering skill for anyone with a social media presence. Whether you’re using shared blocklists to preemptively shut down known spam networks or browser extensions to surgically remove sources of harassment, these techniques help you build a safer, more productive online space for yourself and your audience.

While blocking helps you reduce negative interactions, proactively managing your channels is just as important. That’s why we were frustrated with overly complicated and unreliable social media tools built a decade ago. At Postbase, we created a simple, modern platform designed for how people actually use social media today - with a clean visual calendar, reliable video scheduling, and a unified inbox. We handle the technical side so you have more time to focus on creating great content and connecting with your community.