Keyword Blocking helps your organisation prevent users from sending messages that include specific words or phrases. Organisation Admins manage a single blocklist that applies across the entire workspace.
How It Works
Before a chat message or feed comment is sent, the user’s device automatically checks the content against your organisation’s blocklist.
If a blocked keyword is found, the message won’t send and the user will see an immediate tooltip explaining why.
Setting It Up
Organisation Admins can manage keyword blocking directly in the Moderation Tool. You can:
Add or remove individual keywords at any time
What Keyword Blocking Does — and Doesn’t — Do
It’s important to understand the exact scope of this feature so you know where it will (and won’t) apply.
✔️ What is blocked
Keyword Blocking applies to:
Chat messages (both 1-to-1 and group chats)
Channel messages
Comments on feed posts
Edited messages — if the edited version contains a blocked word, it won’t send
❌ What is not blocked
Keyword Blocking does not scan or restrict:
Feed post titles or body text — only comments are checked
User profile fields — names, job titles, and bios are not reviewed
Files or attachments — filenames, images, and documents aren’t scanned
Messages sent from outdated app versions — older versions that don’t include this feature won’t apply the blocklist
⚠️ Other Important Limitations
No audit trail
There is no record of blocked message attempts. This is intentional to protect user privacy and avoid creating a surveillance-like experience.
One organisation-wide blocklist
Multiple blocklists aren’t supported. All users share a single list.
No context awareness
The system doesn’t use AI or understand nuance. It simply checks for exact text matches.
Performance considerations
Extremely large blocklists (1,000+ keywords) may cause minor delays when sending messages. Keep your list targeted for best performance.
Example of what can and can’t be blocked
If ‘cat’ is in the block list, it will only block ‘cat’, but not ‘caterpillar’ or ‘communication’.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can users on older app versions bypass the keyword blocking?
Yes, that’s why it is imperative that users are on the most up-to-date version of Blink, as users on outdated mobile apps will not have keyword blocking. We highly recommendation that you communicate the importance of app updates to your users, especially if you’re using this for compliance purposes. Organisations can also use MDM (Mobile Device Management solutions to enforce app updates if needed.
Can I create different blocklists for different teams or groups?
No. Currently, there is only one organisation-wide blocklist. All users in the organisation are subject to the same keywords. This is by design to keep the feature simple and performant.
Is there a log or audit trail of blocked messages?
No. Blocked message attempts are not logged, recorded, or reported. This is intentional to maintain user privacy and avoid creating a "surveillance" culture. The focus is on prevention, not punishment.
What happens if a user edits a message to include a blocked word?
The same blocking logic applies. If a user edits an existing message and the edited version contains a blocked word, the edit will not be saved and they'll see the same tooltip feedback.
Can I use wildcards or regex patterns in my blocklist?
No. The blocklist only supports exact word or phrase matches. You cannot use wildcards (e.g., "bad*") or regex patterns. If you want to block variations, you need to add each variation individually.
How does this interact with the existing reporting and moderation features?
Automated Keyword Blocking is a prevention tool that works before messages are sent. It is complementary to (not a replacement for) Blink's existing reporting and moderation features. Content that passes keyword blocking can still be reported by users and reviewed by moderators.