X changes how it handles links to keep users on the social network

The social network X is testing a change in how it handles links on iOS, so that the "Like", "Reply" and "Repost" buttons are always visible, writes UNN with reference to The Verge.

Details

Usually, when you click a link in X, a page opens that completely covers the original post. This obviously leads to fewer people clicking "Like" or otherwise interacting with the content.

A significant portion of users probably don't return to X at all after clicking an external link. Therefore, the company folds the original post down instead of allowing the browser to take up the entire screen, increasingly following Elon Musk's vision of X as an "everything app" that you never need to leave.

A common complaint is the low effectiveness of posts with links on X. A post announcing this new feature seems to suggest that the reason is how the interface takes the user away from X, which reduces engagement.

Elon Musk also announced in a post on the X platform that changes would be made to the recommendation system, which could lead to increased reach for posts with links. He claims that the company is four to six weeks away from "removing all heuristics," meaning likes and replies will have less impact. Instead, he says, "Grok will literally read every post and watch every video (over 100 million per day) to curate content for users that they are most likely to find interesting."

Moving to AI-based content understanding instead of a rules-based algorithm has been an obvious goal for X for some time. These changes could lead to increased reach even for accounts with very few followers.

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