X tweaks algorithm to boost mutuals and foster friendlier community

X's head of product, Nikita Bier, announced on Monday that the platform has made a 'tweak' to its algorithm to increase the visibility of posts from users' 'mutuals' – people they follow who follow them back. Bier noted that this data was previously missing from the algorithm, causing friends to appear less often in replies and making the reply section feel 'like a battleground with people you don’t recognize.'

While the change may not drastically revamp the user experience, it could make X feel more like a community rather than a torrent of disparate voices. Bier added that the adjustment would also 'help clusters form around interests more easily, which many people have asked for.'

X has introduced several changes recently aimed at supporting creators. Earlier this year, the platform altered its compensation system to incentivize original content over simple aggregation. Earlier this month, it also launched a video editor to make content creation easier on the platform.

This update follows similar efforts by Meta’s Threads, which has been tweaking its algorithm to build communities as a differentiator from X. Last month, Threads introduced a 'Your Algo' feature that gives users private control over their feed. Threads also reached 500 million monthly active users.