Unquestionably, Tumblr ranks among the craziest places on the internet. You get all sorts of insane stuff on your endlessly scrolling dashboard, which can range from clever political satire to the latest movie spoilers. And it goes without saying that some of them can keep you glued for hours or downright irritating. Yes, the appeal of Tumblr is that you never know what to expect, but can you do something about those posts you really don't like?
ContentsHow tag filtering worksBlocking tags on desktopTag filtering on mobileStop following boring blogsPreparing your dashboard
Fortunately, yes, you can. Tumblr uses tags to categorize posts, and most items are based on tracked blogs and searches. But rather than unfollow them, you can use tags to prevent certain types of posts from ruining your day. So, without further ado, let's see how you should proceed. But first, let's see how tag filtering works.
As with any other tagging system, Tumblr keeps things simple. Those posting content can add relevant tags or create ones from scratch to match what people are looking for. But regardless, any blogs you actively follow can cause Tumblr to post articles related to tags you never want to see anywhere in your dashboard feed.
To prevent this from becoming a problem, Tumblr implemented a filtering system some time ago. Filter a tag and you automatically block all posts containing the same tag, even if other tags have been added to them.
Blocked posts, however, are not necessarily hidden – you may still see placeholders on your dashboard. If you want, you can just click or tap the View post button to open the post in the sidebar of the dashboard. Very useful if the posts are from a blog you know and love. Pretty intuitive, right?
As for the tag filtering process, Tumblr lets you do it on desktop, as well as Android and iOS mobile apps. But do not worry. Your changes sync, so you don't have to repeat your actions across platforms.
If you're not sure which tags to filter, see the bottom of a troublesome article for the full list of related tags. Use your intuition to determine which beacon you should block. For example, if you see both #starwars and #starwars spoiler tags in a post, choose the latter to never miss Star Wars posts that don't actually contain any spoilers.
On a desktop computer, filter tags require a brief visit to the Settings panel. Any changes made to the dashboard feed are immediately reflected.
Step 1: In the Tumblr dashboard, click the Account icon, then click Settings.
Step 2: Click the Edit pencil icon under the Filtering section, then add the tag you want to block. When done, click the Add button.
Note: Don't enter the pound sign (#) — Tumblr fills it in for you automatically. Step 3. Insert any other tags you want to block, then return to the dashboard. All messages related to filtered tags should now be hidden.
Note: While you're at it, you can also block Not Safe For Work (NSFW) posts by turning on the toggle next to Safe Mode. Your desktop filtered tags should sync directly to mobile. However, you can still add tags to the list from Tumblr's Android or iOS apps quite easily.
Step 1: On the Tumblr mobile app, tap the Account icon. On the next screen, tap the cog-shaped Settings icon.
Note: On the iOS version, you must first select one of your blogs before you can see the Settings icon. It doesn't matter which blog you choose.
Step 2: Tap the option labeled General Settings, then tap Filtering.
Step 3: Tap on the +New option, then enter the tag you want to filter in the pop-up box. Repeat for any other tags you want to block, then return to the dashboard.
Note: Just like on the desktop, you can prevent Not Safe For Work (NSFW) content from displaying by enabling the toggle next to Safe Mode. Sometimes you can get tons of annoying posts just because you followed the wrong blog. And obviously, you can't just rely on beacon filtering to stop seeing them. So why not consider unfollowing the blog? It's either that or lose better posts that carry similar tags from other blogs.
If you are brave enough to make this decision, just click on the blog username from a post. You should then see the blog loading on the side of the dashboard. Just click Unfollow, and you should be good.
Note: On mobile, you need to tap the Profile icon to reveal the Unfollow option. The ability to filter or block tags is one of Tumblr's best, but relatively unknown, features. Once you add some of the worst tags, you don't have to worry about seeing stupid posts or surprises on your dashboard. So what are you waiting for? Start blocking tags!
