Online harassment often follows victims across multiple platforms, as blocking tools are siloed within individual social networks. A person blocked on one platform may continue harassing someone on another, forcing victims to manually repeat blocking actions. This fragmented approach undermines user safety and leaves gaps in protection against cross-platform abuse.

Solving the Cross-Platform Harassment Gap

An approach to address this could involve creating a tool that synchronizes block lists across multiple social media platforms. Rather than automatically enforcing blocks everywhere—which may raise technical or legal concerns—this tool could work as follows: Users maintain a single master block list through a browser extension or app, which then syncs to connected social platforms when the user is active. This would apply blocks via APIs where possible, with options for granular control (e.g., blocking on some platforms but not others). Additionally, users might receive notifications if a blocked individual tries contacting them on a new platform.

Potential Execution and Challenges

A minimal viable product might start as a browser extension supporting synchronization between a few major platforms like Twitter and Instagram, using their existing APIs. Future phases could expand to mobile apps and integrate with decentralized networks like Mastodon or Bluesky. Key challenges would include platform API restrictions and privacy concerns. One way to mitigate these could be prioritizing local storage of block lists and open-sourcing the tool to build trust.

Differentiation from Existing Solutions

Unlike single-platform tools like Block Party or retroactive privacy apps like Jumbo, this approach focuses on proactive, multi-platform protection. It also addresses a gap left by native blocking features, which don’t communicate across different services. By unifying the blocking experience, users could manage harassment more efficiently without needing to start from scratch on each platform.

While hurdles like API limitations and identity verification exist, the idea presents a way to shift blocking from a platform-centric to a user-centric function—potentially reducing the burden on harassment targets and streamlining digital safety.