X has rolled out a new algorithm update designed to make conversations on the platform feel more personal by giving greater visibility to posts from users who follow each other.
The change was announced on Monday by Nikita Bier, X’s Head of Product, who said the platform discovered that replies from “mutuals” were not being surfaced as frequently as they should have been.
According to Bier, that gap in the recommendation system often resulted in reply sections being dominated by unfamiliar users, making discussions feel less engaging.
“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.”
With the latest adjustment, X hopes to make conversations feel more familiar by ensuring users are more likely to see replies from people they already interact with or share mutual connections with.
Bier also said the update is expected to strengthen communities on the platform by making it easier for users with similar interests to discover one another and participate in shared discussions.
“Help clusters form around interests more easily, which many people have asked for.”
The update reflects X’s broader effort to improve user engagement by encouraging meaningful interactions rather than exposing users primarily to strangers’ replies.
While the algorithm tweak is unlikely to reshape users’ timelines overnight dramatically, it represents another step in the company’s ongoing strategy to refine how content is recommended and how conversations unfold.
The latest change follows a series of product updates introduced by X this year, as the platform continues to compete for creators’ and audiences’ attention.
Earlier in the year, the company revised its creator monetisation program to reward original content over reposted or aggregated material, a move aimed at encouraging more authentic content creation.
More recently, X also launched a built-in video editor, allowing creators to record, edit and publish videos directly within the app without relying on third-party tools.
The update also arrives as competition with Meta’s Threads intensifies.
Threads has steadily expanded its feature set in recent months, including the introduction of Your Algo. This private customisation tool lets users influence how their feeds are ranked. The platform has also grown rapidly, reaching 500 million monthly active users, further increasing the pressure on X to improve user experience and retention.
Although prioritising posts from mutual followers could make conversations feel more relevant and community-driven, some users believe the platform still faces larger challenges.
Issues such as spam, harassment, misinformation and content theft remain recurring concerns that many argue continue to affect the overall experience on X.
Even so, the latest algorithm update signals the platform’s intention to make discussions less chaotic and more relationship-driven, with a greater focus on helping users engage with people they know or share common interests with.
