Musk’s X discontinues Circle feature
Starting from October 31, 2023, users will no longer be able to add individuals to their Circles but will retain the ability to remove members.
Elon Musk’s social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, is discontinuing its Circle feature, which allows users to share posts with a specific group of people, similar to Instagram’s ‘Close Friends’ feature. The company announced that this feature will be discontinued on October 31, 2023, and users won’t be able to add new members to their Circles after that date.
They can, however, remove people from their Circles. The company will still allow users to view their past Circle posts. Twitter introduced the Circle feature in August 2022, but it faced issues, such as posts not being correctly labelled and appearing on unintended timelines, leading to security concerns.
Why does it matter?
While discontinuing the Circle feature may seem like a minor change, it could be interpreted as a strategic response to several converging issues, including limited user adoption and ongoing privacy and security concerns. It indicates that the platform may want to focus on other features they believe are more critical for their growth and identity.
About author
DW Team
The GIP Digital Watch Observatory team, consisting of over 30 digital policy experts from around the world, excels in the fields of research and analysis on digital policy issues. The team is backed by the creative prowess of Creative Lab Diplo and the technical expertise of the Diplo tech team.