X will tell users when governments reduce their posts' reach
What's the story
Social media platform X has introduced a new feature to enhance transparency about its visibility practices. The company announced that its 'Under the Hood' menu will now indicate if an account's posts have been made less visible due to local laws. The update will show which country requested content access restriction and which posts were flagged for review.
Accessibility criteria
How to access 'Under the hood' feature
To use the 'Under the Hood' feature, users must have an account that has been active for over a year and has at least 10 posts in the last month.
The company says anyone meeting these criteria can take advantage of this new feature.
The update was first tested in August, providing some insight into how X's For You feed algorithms work and any labels applied to posts.
Transparency enhancement
Major step toward transparency
The 'Under the Hood' feature is a major step toward making X's operations more transparent.
It provides users with access to data that was previously hidden, albeit in a complex JSON file format.
This update is seen as a positive change, giving users insight into how their content is treated on the platform and reducing claims of shadowbanning.