Twitter/X Backtracks From Hiding Headlines on Link Previews

After X decided to hide headlines on link previews last fall, the platform formerly known as Twitter may have realized that it had gone a bit too far. Today, 9to5Google noticed that headlines are back on post with links, though with a twist.

The change is currently only visible on the web, and link previews now show the headline of linked articles instead of just the domain, which is now visible below the link preview. You can see how this looks below with an automated post from our @Thurrottfeed account.

While bringing back headlines is definitely an improvement, you may notice that long headlines are cut off. The text of the headline is also smaller than what we could see before Elon Musk himself decided to remove headlines on link previews. At the time, Musk said that this would “greatly improve the esthetics,” but this was obviously at the detriment of usability.

By removing headlines from article links in posts, X wanted to push publishers to post directly on the platform. And of course, publishing long posts on X requires them to pay a subscription. Anyway, as Musk explained at the time, “Our algorithm tries to optimize time spent on X, so links don’t get as much attention, because there is less time spent if people click away.”

Musk actually announced in November that posts with links X would soon start showing headlines again, so the change wasn’t entirely unexpected. However, as I’ve previously mentioned, the change is only visible on the web at the moment, and it may come to other platforms soon.