Many are now speculating that Elon Musk is seriously worried about the Bluesky exodus after a recent feature addition to X raises eyebrows.
Elon Musk's sporadic and often spontaneous decision making has been emblematic of his time at the helm of X (formerly Twitter) since he purchased it for $44 billion back in 2022.
Many have criticized the changes that he has brought to the platform alongside his general presence, to the point where even Grok - the AI created for use on X - has directly accused Musk of misinformation.
There have been many phoenix attempts in the wake of what many consider to be a deterioration of the platform, with alternative sites like Mastodon, cohost, and even Instagram's own Threads showing potential.
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However, none have managed to stick with users flocking back to their Twitter homes after a short while - that is, until now.
Bluesky, which was originally conceived within Twitter itself, has proven to be by far the most viable alternative for users wanting to leave X behind for good, boasting over 20 million users which includes a number of high-profile celebrities.
Some have understandably speculated that this has upset the richest man in the world, but a sudden and significant change has only further added fuel to the flame.
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X iOS engineer May Ly announced on November 21 that a new feature for iPhones would allow users to "hide engagement buttons and numbers below each post," effectively 'hiding' the like, reply, repost, and quote numbers which have become a key part of how the platform functions.
There have been rumors surrounding this change for quite a while now, but the sudden drop does seem to indicate that Musk might perhaps want to hide something.
The platforms owner did comment on the change himself, arguing: "It's much cleaner with engagement numbers turned off. You can still see view count if you care."
The 'if you care' does feel a little petulant in this instance, implying that engagement isn't an important metric to consider - especially when Musk has modelled the platform's creator payouts on these exact numbers.
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It does also come as a stark contrast to Bluesky's transparent analytics, as the new platform's team are not only more than happy to share various milestones, but you can see a live day-by-day count of the overall user numbers, alongside total likes, posts, and follows.
This shows quite a significant trend upwards for the Twitter alternative, with a dramatic increase in growth following the US election in early November, which Musk played (and continues to play) a significant role within.
This is far from the first time that similar changes have been brought to X under Musk's leadership, with the privatization of likes being one of the most prominent, but it likely won't be too long before this change leaves the confines of Apple devices and launches site-wide.