X Algorithm Updated to Boost ‘Mutual’ Connections, Curb Platform Toxicity
X has updated its algorithm to boost the visibility of posts from "mutuals", users who follow each other back. Head of Product Nikita Bier stated the change aims to make reply threads feel more like a community and less like a battleground, countering recent platform toxicity. Check more details.
In an effort to foster a more community-focused environment, social media platform X has introduced an algorithmic adjustment designed to increase the visibility of posts from "mutuals", users who follow one another. X's Head of Product, Nikita Bier, confirmed the change on Monday, noting that the platform had identified a gap in its previous recommendation data.
X Product Head Nikita Bier announced on the platform, "We're rolling out a small tweak to boost visibility of your posts to your mutuals (people who you follow back). We noticed this data was missing from the algo and it made your friends appear less in your replies. This resulted in the reply section feeling more like a battleground with people you don't recognize. This should also help clusters form around interests more easily, which many people have asked for."
The company observed that the absence of mutual-focused signals in its algorithm had caused friends to appear less frequently in users' reply threads. This unintended dynamic often left reply sections feeling like a "battleground" populated by strangers rather than a space for meaningful conversation. By prioritising posts from reciprocal followers, X aims to encourage more organic engagement among people who are already connected.
Building Community Through Algorithms
Beyond simply improving reply threads, the change is intended to help interest-based clusters form more naturally across the platform. While the tweak is not expected to completely overhaul the user experience, it represents a shift in strategy for X, which has faced ongoing criticism over the prevalence of aggressive or disparate voices in its feeds.
The update arrives as X continues to refine its platform to appeal more strongly to creators. Recent months have seen the site implement changes to its creator revenue-sharing scheme, aiming to incentivise original content over mere aggregation, alongside the introduction of new native video-editing tools.
Competitive Pressure and Platform Differentiation
X's move to prioritise community-building signals mirrors similar efforts by Meta's Threads, which has aggressively differentiated itself from X by focusing on user-controlled feeds. Last month, Threads launched its "Your Algo" feature, granting users greater private control over their feed content. Threads has continued to see significant growth, recently reaching 500 million monthly active users, placing additional pressure on X to improve the quality of interactions on its own platform.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 14, 2026 08:28 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
