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

Source: TechCrunch

Launched in 2021, when the company was still known as Twitter, Communities were meant to provide the social network’s users with a place to connect around shared interests.

Now, X is shutting down the feature for good, citing spam and low usage.

Why X is ending Communities

X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, explained that less than 0.4 % of users were active in Communities, yet those groups generated about 80 % of spam reports, financial scams, and malware on the platform.

“Communities had a great vision, but they were used by less than 0.4 % of users—yet contributed to 80 % of spam reports, financial scams, and malware on X.” – Nikita Bier, April 23 2026

The handful of successful Communities often served as acquisition channels for “Kick” or compensated clipper communities, rather than fostering genuine discussion. Bier described the project as a “Temu version of subreddits,” noting that a few good groups would need to migrate elsewhere.

Image credit: X

Shutdown timeline and migration

• Shutdown date: May 6 2026 (extended migration deadline to May 30).
• Migration path: Community admins can move members to the revamped XChat group‑chat experience, which supports “joinable” public links. These links can be shared on X’s timeline, pinned, and currently allow up to 500 members (with a goal of reaching 1,000 soon).

XChat and new group‑chat features

XChat, the platform’s messaging service that is slated to launch as a standalone app, will:

• Offer joinable links for public group chats.
• Support up to 500 members per group (targeting 1,000).

Other recent X product updates

• Custom Timelines for Premium subscribers – users can pin topical feeds to their Home tab, curated based on personal engagement.
• New features rolling out rapidly, including:
  • Cashtags
  • Mute buttons for topics
  • Voice notes in chat
  • Enhanced photo editor
  • Automatic translations
  • Updated reply settings

According to Bier, the X team is now launching two to three new features per week, suggesting more announcements are on the horizon.