X is set to discontinue Communities on May 30 due to minimal usage and an increase in spam content. This feature was originally introduced in 2021 to enable users to connect with like-minded individuals. It will now be succeeded by Custom Timelines, a fresh feature designed to create personalised topic feeds that users can pin to their home tab.
Highlights
Details from X’s Head of Product
The head of product, Nikita Bier, posted on X, noting that Communities were envisioned with great potential but were utilised by less than 0.4% of users. Furthermore, this feature was responsible for 80% of the spam reports, financial scams, and malware problems on X. It was taking up a significant amount of time for the team, impacting other areas of the app.
Investments in XChat
The company is investing significantly in XChat. Despite the initial vision, the low engagement and high spam rates led to the decision to discontinue Communities.
Launch of Custom Timelines
Powered by Grok, Custom Timelines is currently accessible to Premium users on iOS. At present, the feature includes over 75 topics, ranging from Formula 1 to K-pop, cryptocurrency, and biotech. Unlike traditional systems, this new approach avoids keyword-based filtering. Instead, Grok analyses each post for content classification, which X claims enhances accuracy as users engage more deeply with specific subjects.
User Benefits and Features
Bier highlighted this update as one of the most significant transformations for X. Users can pin up to 10 topics, adjust their order, and toggle between various feeds directly from their home tab. Additionally, X has introduced a Snooze Topics feature, allowing users to mute categories, such as politics or sports, for a duration of 24 hours.
Comparisons with Other Platforms
Custom feeds are not a new concept, as platforms like Bluesky and Threads already provide similar services. X is now unveiling its own version with live post analysis powered by Grok. The Snooze Topics feature is currently available for Premium users on both iOS and web, with plans to extend support for custom timelines on Android in the future.
Feedback from Creators
The decision to close Communities faced backlash from creators. In response, X extended the migration deadline from May 6 to May 30. Moreover, in light of criticism, the company has increased group chat limits from 350 members to a proposed 1,000 members.
Expansion of Ad Inventory
With the launch of Custom Timelines, X has also broadened its ad inventory, allocating every second slot in the custom feeds for advertising. The effectiveness of the new timelines in replacing Communities for users remains to be seen, as curated feeds and group chats cater to different needs.
