X is shutting down Communities because of low usage and lots of spam

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TLDR

  • X is shutting down Communities on May 6, 2026, citing spam overload and sub-0.4% user adoption.

Key Facts

  • Communities were used by less than 0.4% of X users but drove 80% of spam reports, financial scams, and malware on the platform.
  • X head of product Nikita Bier described surviving communities mostly as “user-acquisition channels for Kick or compensated clipper communities.”
  • Community admins can migrate members to XChat group chats; public joinable links support up to 500 members, with a migration deadline of May 30, 2026.
  • X launched Custom Timelines for Premium subscribers this week as a partial replacement for interest-based community features.

Why It Matters

  • The shutdown signals that X’s moderation costs for low-adoption features outweighed the benefits, redirecting resources toward XChat and timeline personalization.
  • Admins of functional communities must act before May 30 to preserve their member groups under the new XChat structure.

Sarah Perez, TechCrunch · 2026-04-23 · Read the original