How to Mute Words on Twitter (X): Words, Hashtags, Emojis

To mute words on Twitter (X), go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy and safety, Mute and block, Muted words, and add the word, phrase, hashtag or emoji you don’t want to see. Choose whether to hide it from your Home timeline, your notifications or both, pick a duration (Forever, 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days), and save. Posts containing it stop showing up there until you remove it or the time runs out.

Muting is one of the most useful and least-known X settings. It hides spoilers, topics you’re tired of and notification spam without unfollowing or blocking anyone. This guide covers the exact steps on iPhone, Android and the web, how matching works, what muting does and doesn’t hide, how to mute accounts and conversations, and how to undo it all.

What you can mute on X

According to X’s help center, you can mute posts that contain particular:

• Words, such as a show title or a team name
• Phrases, such as “season finale”
• Hashtags, such as #election
• Emojis
• Usernames, written with the @ sign

Muting removes those posts from your Notifications tab, push notifications, SMS and email notifications, your Home timeline, and from replies to posts. X’s help center also says recommendations it sends you by email or in the app won’t suggest content containing your muted words.

Muting a word is different from muting an account. A muted word hides posts from anyone that contain it. A muted account hides everything from one person, whatever they write. Both are covered below.

How to mute words on X (web)

These steps follow X’s help center for x.com:

1. Click More in the side menu, then Settings and privacy.
2. Click Privacy and safety, then Mute and block.
3. Click Muted words.
4. Click the plus icon.
5. Type the word, phrase, hashtag, emoji or @username. X only accepts one entry at a time.
6. Tick Home timeline, Notifications, or both.
7. Choose From anyone or From people you don’t follow.
8. Under Mute timing, choose Forever, 24 hours from now, 7 days from now or 30 days from now.
9. Click Save.

How to mute words on iPhone and Android

X’s help center sends app users through the Notifications tab, which is the quickest route:

1. Open the Notifications tab.
2. Tap the gear icon.
3. Tap Muted, then Muted words (on Android it may be a single Muted words option).
4. Tap Add (or the plus icon on Android).
5. Type the word or hashtag. One entry at a time.
6. Choose Home timeline, Notifications, or both.
7. For notifications, choose From anyone or From people you don’t follow.
8. Tap For how long? and pick Forever, 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days.
9. Tap Save, then Done.

You can also get there from Settings and privacy, Privacy and safety, then the Mute and block section. Menu names move around between app versions, so look for the nearest match.

The options explained

Option	What it does
Home timeline	Hides posts containing the word from your Home timeline
Notifications	Stops notifications for posts containing it, including replies and mentions
From anyone	Applies the mute to everyone
From people you don’t follow	Only mutes it in notifications from accounts you don’t follow, so friends still get through
Forever	The default. Stays until you delete it
24 hours, 7 days, 30 days	Lifts the mute automatically when the time is up

The “From people you don’t follow” choice applies to notifications only. It’s handy when a post of yours takes off and strangers flood your mentions with the same phrase: you still hear from people you know.

Time-limited mutes are made for live events. Mute a team name for 24 hours during a game you’ve recorded, or a show title for 7 days after a finale. Because the mute expires on its own, you won’t forget to remove it.

How matching works

X’s help center gives a few rules that decide what a mute catches:

• Not case-sensitive. Muting “CATS” also mutes “cats”.
• Words include their hashtags. Muting “unicorn” mutes both “unicorn” and “#unicorn”.
• Punctuation. You can include punctuation inside a word or phrase, but you don’t need it at the end.
• Usernames need the @. To mute posts that mention an account, include the @ before the name. That mutes posts mentioning the account, not the account’s own posts.
• All languages. Muting works across every language X supports.
• Length. You can mute anything up to the maximum character count of a post.

What a mute can’t catch is just as important. It works on the text of a post. Deliberate misspellings, spaced-out letters, words inside images or screenshots and words in video won’t match. If a topic keeps slipping through, add the common variants as separate entries, such as the full name, a nickname and the hashtag.

What muting doesn’t hide

X’s help center lists a few limits that surprise people:

• Search still shows everything. Muted words only apply to your notifications and Home timeline. Searching for a term will still show posts with it.
• Account alerts override mutes. If you turned on mobile notifications for every post from an account, you’ll still get those alerts even when a post contains a muted word.
• The people you mute don’t know. Muting is private. Nobody is told you’ve muted a word or an account.

If a topic keeps appearing in Explore or trends, use the Not interested option on those items; muted words are aimed at your timeline and notifications.

How to mute an account

When the problem is a person rather than a topic, mute the account. X’s help center says muting removes an account’s posts from your timeline without unfollowing or blocking it, and the muted account isn’t told.

From a post: tap the three-dot icon at the top of the post, then Mute.

From a profile: open the profile, tap the three-dot icon, then Mute.

On the web, X shows a confirmation banner with an Undo button in case you misclick.

What changes depends on whether you follow them, per X’s help center:

• Accounts you follow: their posts leave your Home timeline, including ones posted before you muted them. Their replies and mentions still appear in your Notifications tab, and their replies stay visible when you open a conversation.
• Accounts you don’t follow: their replies and mentions disappear from your Notifications tab, and their replies are hidden when you open a conversation.
• Either way: they can still follow you and send you Direct Messages, and you stop getting push and SMS notifications from them.

How to mute a conversation

If one of your posts turns into a long thread and the notifications won’t stop, mute the conversation. According to X’s help center:

1. Open the post or any reply in the conversation.
2. Tap or click the three-dot icon.
3. Choose Mute this conversation and confirm.

You won’t get new notifications about it, but the posts still appear in your timeline and when you open the original post.

Mute vs. block

Both stop you seeing someone’s posts. The difference is what the other person can still do.

	Mute	Block
They’re told	No	Not notified, but they see it if they visit your profile
They can follow you	Yes	No
They can message you	Yes	No
They can like, reply or repost	Yes	No
They can see your public posts	Yes	Yes, but they can’t engage with them
Undo	Unmute any time	Unblock and follow again if you want

Start with mute when someone is just noisy or repetitive. Use block when someone is harassing you, impersonating someone, or you don’t want them interacting with you at all. If you want your posts hidden from everyone except approved followers, that’s a different setting: see how to make your X account private.

How to unmute words and accounts

Muted words, web: Settings and privacy, Privacy and safety, Mute and block, Muted words. Click the word, then change Mute from or Extend mute time and save, or click the muted button to remove it.

Muted words, iPhone and Android: Notifications, gear icon, Muted words. Tap the word, then Delete word and confirm. You can also change its settings and tap Save.

Muted accounts: visit the profile and tap the unmute icon (or, on the web, the three-dot menu and Unmute). To see everyone you’ve muted, go to Settings and privacy, Privacy and safety, and Muted accounts (on the web it’s under Mute and block).

Muting and your own reach

Muting is a personal filter. When other people mute a word you use, your posts simply don’t appear in their timelines, and you won’t be told. That’s one of many quiet reasons a post can reach fewer people than you expected. If your numbers drop, our guides on why X impressions drop and how the X algorithm works cover the bigger factors.

Key takeaways

• Mute words on the web through Settings and privacy, Privacy and safety, Mute and block, Muted words; in the app through Notifications, gear icon, Muted words.
• You can mute words, phrases, hashtags, emojis and @usernames, one entry at a time.
• Choose Home timeline, Notifications or both, and Forever, 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days.
• Muting isn’t case-sensitive, and muting a word also mutes its hashtag.
• Muted words still appear in search, and in alerts you turned on for specific accounts.
• Mute accounts or conversations for quieter feeds; block when someone shouldn’t interact with you at all.