Elon Musk has made yet another big change to X (formerly Twitter), and users are already furious with the decision.
X users have been left baffled by the latest in a series of changes to the popular social media platform, complaining that the site is now more confusing and less user friendly.
Links posted to the platform no longer clearly display headlines and descriptions beneath the preview image.
This means there is no clear information about where the link might lead.
This has led many to complain that it is no longer clear which posts are external links, and which are simply pictures.
Links posted to the platform no longer clearly display headlines and descriptions beneath the preview image
Before the update, links posted to X displayed their headline and preview text in a box below the main picture, however this function has now vanished
Elon Musk, who took over Twitter in October 2022, claimed full responsibility for the changes to link previews claiming it would improve the sites ‘esthetics’
Before the update, links posted to X displayed their headline and preview text in a box below the main picture.
Links now appear in the same format as images, with the only distinguishing feature being the link address in small white text in the bottom left-hand corner.
X users have been quick to criticise the change for making pictures and links appear to similar in their feeds.
‘I can’t tell between an image and a link to an article anymore. why did this change,’ one user wrote.
Another said that the change ‘really ruins the UX [user experience]’ adding that links now ‘looks like someone just shared an image’.
Meanwhile, one exasperated X user asked: ‘How long till twitter changes the image article link s***? Like three days?’
This change has been on the horizon since late August when Musk confirmed the plans.
This change has been on the horizon since late August, when Elon Musk confirmed the plans
X users are furious with the decision to change how links were previewed, complaining that the change makes pictures and links to similar
At the time, he wrote: ‘This is coming from me directly. Will greatly improve the esthetics.’
Beyond Musk’s claim to improve site esthetics there are a number of theories circulating as to why this change may have come.
One theory is that the change is designed to keep users on the site for longer, making it more difficult to jump through links to other platforms.
Since Musk took over Twitter in October 2022, Twitter’s ad revenue has plummeted.
And some users have speculated that the change will make it harder to leave X through external links, boosting time spent on the site and potentially increasing ad revenue.
One user suggested the change was to ‘keep people from clicking and thus leaving Twitter’
Musk himself has provided some credibility to this theory, writing in a post that X’s algorithm already gave visibility to links because external links reduced time spent on the platform.
Another possible reason is that by removing the preview text, links become smaller and take up less space on the screen.
This allows more posts to be visible at a single time, potentially creating a more engaging experience for users.
This isn’t the first time Musk’s changes to the site have sparked controversy, with his time as the head of X marred by a series of dramatic changes.
In August these changes caused an uproar as X announced plans to axe the ‘block’ feature, removing users ability to avoid harassment and spam from other users.
This also comes after significant changes to moderation with the introduction of the community notes feature.
