X is testing a change to how links are handled on iOS so that the Like, Reply, and Retweet buttons are always visible. Normally, when you click on an X link, the page opens and completely covers the original post. Apparently, this results in fewer people liking or otherwise interacting with the content.
A good number of people probably just don’t return to X after clicking an external link. So the company is collapsing the original post to the bottom instead of letting the web browser take up the entire screen, and continuing to push Elon Musk’s vision of X as an “all-encompassing app” that you never have to leave.
It’s a common complaint that posts with links to X aren’t effective. The post introducing this new feature seems to suggest that this is because of the way the interface directs you away from X, thereby reducing engagement.
Elon also said in a post on X that there would be changes to how the recommendation system works, which could result in increased reach for posts with links.
He claims that the company is four to six weeks away from “deletion of all heuristics,” meaning likes and replies will have less of an impact. Instead, he says that, “Grok will literally read every post and watch every video (100M+ per day) to match users with content they’re most likely to find interesting.”
X has been clear for some time about moving to an AI-based understanding of the actual content of a post, rather than a more rules-based algorithm. These changes could increase reach even for accounts with very few followers.
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