X Is Shutting Down Communities Because Of Low Usage And Lots Of Spam

Launched in 2021, erstwhile nan institution was still known arsenic Twitter, Communities were meant to supply nan societal network’s users pinch a spot to link pinch each different astir shared interests. Now, X is shutting down nan characteristic for good, saying it was overrun pinch spam and a headache to manage.

Plus, noted X’s caput of merchandise Nikitia Bier, hardly anyone was utilizing them.

“Communities had a awesome vision, but they were utilized by little than 0.4% of users—yet contributed to 80% of spam reports, financial scams, and malware connected X,” Bier wrote connected X, explaining nan company’s reasoning down nan removal of nan high-profile feature.

“Of nan fistful of Communities that succeeded, astir were user-acquisition channels for Kick aliases compensated clipper communities.”

In different words, Communities often weren’t being utilized for their original purpose. Instead, they had go a spot focused connected driving (often paid) postulation to different online creators extracurricular of X itself. (Clipping is nan believe of sharing short clips of different creator’s activity aliases a brand’s video, for which nan clipper is compensated. Marketers and creators leverage these communities to make liking successful their original content.)

Bier moreover scoffed astatine X’s grounded Communities task arsenic a “Temu type of subreddits” — a reference to nan groups recovered wrong nan much celebrated interest-based societal network, Reddit.

Image Credits:X

He did, however, statement that location were a fewer bully communities successful nan operation that will person to migrate elsewhere, but mostly suggested that nan characteristic wasn’t worthy maintaining fixed its wide debased use.

Communities connected X will beryllium unopen down connected May 6, 2026. Until then, Community admins tin migrate their members to nan recently revamped group chat experience.

To fresh itself for nan influx of X Community members, XChat — nan app’s messaging service, which is poised to motorboat arsenic a standalone app — will support “joinable” links for group chats. These nationalist links tin beryllium shared connected X’s timeline and pinned, and support up to 350 members per chat. The group chat whitethorn support moreover much members successful nan future, Bier suggested.

Despite these changes, Bier pointed retired that X isn’t giving up connected communities; nan institution will conscionable return a different approach.

In summation to nan expanded group chats, nan institution this week launched Custom Timelines for its Premium subscribers, which let users to pin different topical feeds to their Home tab. These feeds are besides curated and personalized to nan individual user, based connected really they prosecute pinch X.

X’s merchandise releases and updates person been hitting astatine a faster gait arsenic of late, pinch X’s plans for its XChat app and another for payments, positive caller features for illustration cashtags, mute buttons for topics, voice notes successful chat, a new photograph editor, automatic translations, new reply settings, and nan caller civilization timelines.

As Bier noted successful March, nan X squad has begun to deed a hit of launching 2 to 3 nett caller features per week, meaning location are apt much features still to come.