Trending Now - X to Close Communities, Transition Users to Xchat by May 30
WHO:
Engadget - Nikita Bier, Head of Product at X
WHAT:
Engadget - The deadline for the retirement of the Communities feature has been extended to May 30th, 2026, from the previously proposed date of May 6th, 2026.
Engadget - X's new custom timelines feature will use Grok to automatically organize posts into feeds focused on specific topics such as food, art, or photography.
Engadget - X is closing its Communities feature.
Engadget - Communities were used by less than 0.4% of users but contributed to 80% of spam reports, financial scams, and malware on X.
Techmeme - XChat currently supports group chats of up to 350 members, with plans to increase this limit to 1,000 members in the next two weeks.
Engadget - Moderators can pin links in their Communities for members to join group chats.
WHERE:
Engadget - The changes are being implemented on the X platform.
WHEN:
Engadget - The Communities feature will be fully retired on May 30th, 2026.
Techmeme - The increase in group chat limits to 1,000 members is expected within the next two weeks from April 22nd, 2026.
WHY:
Engadget - Nikita Bier stated that while some users organized around niche topics, the most active groups were primarily used as "user-acquisition channels for Kick or compensated clipper communities," which was not the intended use of the Communities feature.
Engadget - The Communities feature was not used at the scale desired by X, leading to its closure.
HOW:
Engadget - Users will transition to XChat for group chats, which allows for joinable links to be shared directly to the Timeline.
(UPDATED April 23, 2026 21:16 UTC)
The deadline for the retirement of the Communities feature has been extended to May 30th, giving users more time to adapt to the changes. In addition, X has introduced a new custom timelines feature that will utilize Grok to automatically organize posts into feeds centered around specific topics like food, art, or photography. Nikita Bier explained that while some users found value in niche topics, the most active groups were often serving as user-acquisition channels for Kick or compensated clipper communities, which was not the intended purpose of the Communities feature.
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(UPDATED April 23, 2026 19:23 UTC)
X has announced that it will be closing its Communities feature May 30th, due to low usage, as less than 0.4% of users engaged with it while it accounted for a significant portion of spam and scams on the platform. In the meantime, users will be transitioning to XChat, which currently supports group chats of up to 350 members and will soon increase that limit to 1,000 members. Moderators will also have the ability to pin links in their group chats, making it easier for members to join discussions directly from the Timeline.