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Influencers and creators have a plethora of different ways to interact with their followers, but few can compare to the direct line of communication that X, formerly Twitter, offers to people.
As opposed to platforms like Instagram or TikTok where people mostly just comment on isolated posts, sharing something on X often encourages conversation and community that can be invaluable to a creator — although that's becoming rarer in the age of the dead internet theory.
It's why you still see some of the biggest names in the world of social media interacting with random people on the app, and for streamers especially it's often a great way to keep your followers up to date when you're not explicitly live.
New changes implemented by X could jeopardize that, however, as the platform's Head of Product, Nikita Bier, has announced that 'X Communities' is being depreciated on May 6, 2026.
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Introduced back in September 2021 – roughly half a year before Elon Musk initiated his takeover of the platform – Communities allows people to create groups that join together people with shared interests.
These can be related to hobbies, events, or lifestyle choices, but in the years since its introduction it has primarily been used by creators as a space to interact with their fans and viewers.
You might have noticed suggested communities when scrolling through your timeline, and joining one often gives you a direct line of communication to engage with the creator in a way that would have otherwise proven difficult.
It's now being ditched in favor of 'XChat', a revamp of the platform's existing DM service that will allow up to 350 members for the time being to talk in a single space.
That's seemingly not good enough for some creators though, as they've now spoken out against the change and asked for Communities to be preserved.
"Ah man, why would they do this. I really hope they reverse this decision," wrote major YouTuber KSI. He was joined by streamer xQc, who pleaded: "Don't remove it, I need this. Also, it's a good product, the new product, no one will use."
Megastar streamer iShowSpeed – who recently took to the ring during WrestleMania 42 – also expressed his opposition to the change, explaining:
"I personally don't think this is a good idea I have a community with over 100k in there and it allows me to talk with my community. You shouldn't do this."
Bier responded directly to Speed's complaint, making him aware that "to support larger groups, we'll increase the member limit on groupchats." He also added that Speed's community "averaged 287 active members per day since April 14th — so you wouldn't be impacted."
