• 2 min read
X will boost replies from people you follow
X is tweaking its algorithm so replies from mutuals show up more often, a change Nikita Bier said should make conversations less combative.
Image: Engadget
X is rolling out what head of product Nikita Bier called a “small tweak” to make replies from mutuals — people you follow who also follow you back — more visible under posts.
Bier said X’s algorithm was missing the data needed to surface friends' responses more prominently in the replies section. As a result, he wrote, replies could feel more like “a battleground” filled with people users didn’t recognize.
According to Bier, the adjustment should also make it easier for people to find shared interests, something he said users had been asking for. X is clearly aiming to make conversations on the platform feel less toxic and more useful.
The change follows X’s shutdown of Communities in April. That feature had offered feeds centered on shared interests, giving users a way to follow specific topics or groups more closely. But it never gained traction.
Bier said Communities was used by less than 0.4 percent of users while generating 80 percent of spam reports, financial scams, and malware on X. At the time, he said the feature was consuming too much of the team’s attention “while the rest of the app suffered.”
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Culture Editor
Maya explores gaming, streaming, and the internet as a place where people actually live. From deep-dives into creator economies to the anthropology of digital communities, she tracks platform drama and cultural shifts so you don't have to. She believes the best tech stories are fundamentally about human behavior.
via Engadget
