X tweaks algorithm to boost visibility of friends' posts

X has tweaked its algorithm to boost the visibility of posts from users’ “mutuals” — the people they follow who also follow them back — head of product Nikita Bier said Monday. “We noticed this data was missing from the algo and it made your friends appear less in your replies,” Bier said. “This resulted in the reply section feeling more like a battleground with people you don’t recognize.”

The change may not drastically revamp the platform’s user experience, but it could make X feel a little more like a community rather than a torrent of disparate voices. Bier said the update would also help clusters form around shared interests more easily, something he said many users have asked for.

The tweak is the latest in a string of changes X has introduced recently, many aimed at turning the platform into a bigger hub for creators. Earlier this year, the company changed how it compensates accounts to reward original content rather than mere aggregation, and earlier this month it introduced a video editor meant to make it easier for users to edit clips on the platform.

The move also follows changes at Meta’s Threads, which has been adjusting its own algorithm to foster communities, largely to differentiate itself from its main rival X. Last month, Threads rolled out a “Your Algo” feature that lets users privately control what appears in their feed. Threads has also reached 500 million monthly active users.

Why it matters

The dueling algorithm tweaks show X and Threads converging on the same bet: that surfacing familiar faces and shared interests, rather than open-ended reach, is what keeps users coming back to a social feed.