Key Points
- X is testing a new way for users to open links.
- The new feature lets you open a link without completely leaving the original post.
- The original post collapses to the bottom of the screen, keeping engagement buttons visible.
- The goal is to increase engagement on posts that contain links.
Social media platform X is testing a new feature that could solve a long-standing problem for creators: the fact that posts with links tend to get less engagement. The new “link experience,” which is now rolling out to some iOS users, will allow people to open a link without completely leaving the original post.
Here’s how it works: when you click a link, the web page will open, but the original post will collapse to the bottom of the screen. This means you can still see and interact with the “Like,” “Repost,” and other engagement buttons while you’re reading the linked article.
According to X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, the reason posts with links perform so poorly is that the web browser completely covers the post, and people simply “forget to Like or Reply.” This new design is an attempt to fix that by keeping the engagement buttons visible. “So X doesn’t get a clear signal whether the content is any good,” Bier explained.
Of course, this is only a partial solution. X has also been accused of actively throttling links to certain websites, and Elon Musk himself has admitted that links “don’t get as much attention” on the platform. So, while a better user interface is a step in the right direction, it won’t solve the whole problem.
For now, the advice to creators remains the same: “write a solid caption” and make sure your post can stand on its own, with or without a click.
