Headlines disappear above links on X 🗑️

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You’ve probably noticed that link preview titles have disappeared on X (formerly Twitter). Well, it’s not a bug.

An update to improve X’s aesthetics 🧹

X, formerly known as Twitter, no longer displays the titles of articles shared on its platform. Instead, X shows only the article’s cover image and the domain to which it redirects. This new display has recently been rolled out across the platform, both on the iOS app and on the website. For the time being, the Android app remains unchanged.

Old display on Android

New display on iOS

This modification was decided by Elon Musk himself, who explained that it would make the platform more aesthetically pleasing.

This is coming from me directly. Will greatly improve the esthetics.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 22, 2023

While this may be more  » esthetic  » according to him, it’s less practical for users. As you can see from the screenshots above, it’s now much harder to distinguish a link from an image when scrolling on X. But is aesthetics really the only reason for this change?

A strategy to keep more people on X? 🧐

Since acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk has been making major changes to the platform. In addition to the name change, he aspires to completely transform the platform into an all-in-one application.

Le milliardaire, n’étant pas un grand amateur des médias traditionnels, qu’il a admis ne plus lire, a récemment encouragé les utilisateurs à publier plus de contenu directement sur X afin de stimuler l’engagement sur la plateforme. Selon lui, l’algorithme de la plateforme « essaie d’optimiser le temps passé sur X« , ce qui signifie que « les liens ne reçoivent pas autant d’attention » et que « la meilleure chose à faire est de publier du contenu sous forme longue sur cette plateforme ». L’objectif est donc clair : Ne pas vous faire quitter X.

Not a big fan of traditional media, which he admitted he no longer reads, the billionaire recently encouraged users to publish more content directly on X in order to boost engagement on the platform. According to him, the platform’s algorithm « tries to optimize time spent on X« , which means that « links don’t get as much attention » and that « Best thing is to post content in long form on this platform ». The objective is therefore clear: not to make you leave X.

What do you think of this new X display? Discuss it with us in the comments.