Top News

X Tests Smart Link Preview Feature to Keep Users Engaged Without Leaving the App

Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) is introducing a new experimental feature for iOS users that aims to make browsing links smoother and more engaging. The platform is testing an improved link preview system that allows users to stay connected with the original post even after clicking on a shared link.

Currently, when users tap a link on X, the webpage opens in full-screen mode, completely hiding the original post. This often reduces interactions such as likes, replies, and reposts, as the content disappears behind the link. According to the company, many users don’t return to X once they navigate to an external website — resulting in a drop in engagement and time spent on the app.

The new system being tested changes that experience. Once a link is clicked, the original post will remain visible below the web page, ensuring that X’s key engagement buttons — Like, Reply, and Repost — stay accessible. Essentially, this means users won’t have to leave X entirely while exploring external content.

This feature is another step toward Elon Musk’s broader vision of transforming X into an “everything app.” Musk has repeatedly emphasized his goal of creating a platform where users can chat, shop, make payments, and consume content — all without needing to switch between multiple apps.

One of the biggest complaints from users and creators has been that posts containing links perform poorly compared to image or text-based posts. The company believes this may be due to its existing interface, which redirects users away from the app, reducing visibility and engagement. By integrating external content more seamlessly into the X experience, the platform hopes to reverse that trend.

In a recent post, Elon Musk also revealed plans to modify X’s recommendation system. The company is reportedly working to remove old algorithmic “heuristics” that currently influence which posts appear on users’ timelines. Musk said the goal is to rely more heavily on AI-driven content understanding, allowing X’s in-house AI model, Grok, to analyze and rank content intelligently.

According to Musk, Grok will soon be capable of reading and understanding every post and video shared on the platform — which reportedly exceeds 100 million videos daily. This deep-learning approach will help X deliver more relevant and personalized content to each user, based on actual interests rather than engagement metrics like likes or replies.

This shift from a rule-based system to an AI-powered model marks a significant strategic evolution for X. It could help smaller creators and niche accounts gain more visibility, as the algorithm will focus on the quality and relevance of content rather than popularity alone.

If the link preview test proves successful on iOS, X is expected to roll out the update to Android and web users in the coming months. By keeping the original post visible while browsing external sites, the company hopes to increase in-app engagement and make users feel less disconnected from conversations.

Ultimately, this feature could reshape how users interact with content and links on X — encouraging smoother navigation, stronger engagement, and a more integrated social experience without ever having to leave the app.