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After testing a timeline without buttons, X may be looking to remove counts for likes, reposts, and comments from replies to the original post.
X has undergone a complete overhaul since it was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022. In addition to renaming the platform, replacing its blue bird persona with a single-letter insignia, and completely overturning the verification system, X has witnessed many design changes. Now it appears another is in the pipeline.
The latest iOS app hints at the counts of likes, reposts, and comments being removed from replies to an existing post. The result is a more compact view of the replies with just other users’ names and profile pictures above their responses.
X will soon remove the amount of likes, comments, reposts, etc from replies to posts.
You can click on each to still view this info however. pic.twitter.com/9zVFKkeXKo
— Aaron (@aaronp613) August 6, 2024
These potential changes were discovered by developer and X user @aaronp613 who enabled them by tinkering with unreleased features in version v10.53 of the iOS app. To clarify, X has not officially announced the change, though their presence in code suggests engineers are likely testing it. Interestingly the view only shows replies from verified users on the top, which may or may not be a coincidence.
It is a trend among social media apps to experiment with hiding likes, so users obsess less over numbers and care more about the engagement. X’s approach, however, is different, as it completely removes buttons for these actions. The only way for users to view these counters is by tapping individual responses.
A similar change for the primary timeline was also spotted by the same developer last month. A video posted at the time by @aaronp613 showed a feed without any buttons, just like the newly discovered restricted view for replies.
Here is what X is going to look like without any like/repost buttons on the timeline, all gesture based:
Swipe left and right to like and reply or Force Touch to see a menu with more actions pic.twitter.com/imfgi0ouvV
— Aaron (@aaronp613) July 2, 2024
Instead, the only way to interact with posts was swiping left or right over them. Although the changes have yet to be implemented, Musk seemed to endorse the idea, calling it “awesome.”
It’s awesome. Just swipe left to like and right to reply.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2024
With Musk’s approval, it would not be a surprise if the changes roll out some time in the near future, especially with how quickly he has previously ordered major changes to the platform.
The latest instance of the interface tweaks was spotted a couple of months after X officially rolled out private likes for all users, thereby removing the “Likes” tab from users’ profiles that would sort all posts liked by them. This comes at a time when Musk is ready to lock horns with advertisers after blaming them for the platform’s declining ad revenue. It is unknown whether this latest design change is an attempt to make room for more ads.
