The X Algorithm: Decoding It & Understanding Updates In 2026

Many X users wonder: how does the X algorithm work? The X algorithm updates have even caused some long-time users to leave the social media platform.

However, many former X users have returned to share their thoughts, seeking answers on the new algorithm, as well as many new creators joining X daily.

Let me guide you on how to make your X experience better in 2026 by tweaking a few settings and using different methods to view posts on X.

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

The X “For You” timeline works in 3 stages, candidate sourcing (fetch posts), ranking (machine learning), and filters (remove blocked, NSFW, or already seen content).
Your X settings strongly affect what you see, including whether you view Latest vs Top posts, plus what you search for and what you mute or block.
X uses your Interest data and Preferences (like location and muted accounts) to shape recommendations, and you can edit these in Settings, Privacy and safety, Content you see.
Content quality signals matter, posts can lose reach for offensive text, all-caps, offensive usernames, misspellings, or replying to accounts that don’t follow you.
Engagement signals that can boost distribution include watch time (over 10 seconds on video), dwell time (2-plus seconds), plus quotes and bookmarks.

How the X Algorithm Works (For You Feed)

The way in which you set your X settings can make a big difference in how you receive posts. By choosing the latest posts, you will see the LATEST vs. FOR YOU posts, which alter the X algorithm.

Even what you search for on X can make a difference. Even Elon Musk posted about it a while back:

Very important to fix your X feed:

1. Tap the more button.
2. Go to your settings and look for privacy and safety
3. Select “content you see”, you can adjust it all from there.

You are being manipulated by the algorithm in ways you don’t realize.

Easy to switch back & forth to see the difference.

You can change them back and forth at any time to see the differences.

Latest Updates on the X Algorithm

Some new guidelines came out from the coding of the X algorithm changes last year. Elon posted about that, and so did Alex Finn with further explanations.

Here are some of the things to keep in mind as you post over on X:

Tweepcred is still everywhere in the code, It gives a reputation score to every user.
Post ‘offensive text’? 80% reach reduction.
All caps tweet? That’s seen as ‘shouting’. Major penalization.
Offensive username? 80% reach reduction.
Low text quality (misspellings.)
Replying to accounts that don’t follow you

These will make your posts disappear:

Spammed about crypto
Copy Paste
Misinformation about health
Misinformation about crises
Multiple hashtags•
More than 1 trending topic • Gore and violence •
High toxicity
NSFW text
Low severity – hateful slurs
Medium severity – hateful slurs
High severity – hateful slurs

What Can You Do To Do Better with Tweepcred?

Post a video? If people watch it for more than 10 seconds, you get a MASSIVE boost
Dwelling on your text posts also helps.
If people spend 2+ seconds looking at your post, it’ll be pushed to more people.
Quotes and bookmarks are also massive.

X Recommendation Algorithm

According to their blog, this algorithm comprises many interconnected services and jobs. While there are many areas of the app where posts are recommended—Search, Explore, Ads—this algorithm focuses on the home timeline’s “For You” feed.

It works in 3 stages on X:

Fetch the best posts from different recommendation sources in a process called candidate sourcing.
Rank each post using a machine learning model.
Apply heuristics and filters, such as filtering posts from users you’ve blocked, NSFW content, and posts you’ve already seen.

Their goal for this ranking is to serve you relevant tweets. It is based on whether you mute or block accounts, edit posts, mix up accounts so you don’t see all posts from one account in rapid succession, lower scores if you have negative feedback on a post, etc.

It’s like your grandmother’s secret sauce. If you want to really spice it up, use Creator Buddy.

Data for Interests from X

Your X Data is one area in which X assumes what you like to see on X. Go to Interests from X. There are 2 columns there.

One of the interests is known for, and the other interests are interested in it. The “interested in” column can go on and on if you spend time on X.

See below: How to change your X interests.

Explore all the options under content you see to make your X algorithm work better!

I quickly unchecked a bunch of topics that I am NOT really interested in, but X thinks I am. Hmm, wondering how they assume that?

One was the NFL draft, really? Ever since Tom Brady left the New England Patriots, I lost interest in the NFL, until recently, as they climbed to the number 1 spot for the 2026 playoffs.

Another interest that came up was movies and that is not why I’m on X, I don’t look at movie posts either.

Imagine, the social network X now believes it knows what you like! You can uncheck some of the boxes if you know or feel they are wrong.

I just did this myself as I researched all the areas of my X settings.

How Does The X Algorithm Work With Your Preferences?

Settings Area – if you put in your local area you will see posts around you. This does not mean you won’t see other posts, but these may come up first if events/news that is being posted is happening in your hometown for example.

Go to settings:
Then go to privacy and safety. You can change yours if you like.
In this same area, you can check accounts you have muted and unmute them if you choose to.

Oftentimes, you may have forgotten an account you muted years ago because they posted too often or annoyed you for another reason.

Notification Settings On Your X Feed

You can set these settings to see only certain things in your notifications. There, you will be able to see:

Which of your posts have been liked?
The latest reposts.
Posts directed to you (replies and mentions).
Your new followers.

You can view your notifications in two ways:

All shows you notifications for account activity like new followers, Reposts, mentions, and likes.
Mentions show you notifications only for posts that mention your username.

Elevated Content

In addition to your notifications, X will elevate content that it thinks you’ll be most interested in and that contributes to the conversation in a meaningful way, such as content that is relevant, credible, and safe.

This last one is interesting as X assumes what we are interested in. It must be the Grok AI at work.

But there is one thing you can do here: Turn on the quality filter on X. When enabled, it filters out lower-quality content from your notifications.

For example, duplicate posts or content that appears to be automated — it does not filter notifications from people you follow or accounts you’ve recently interacted with.

You have the option to turn this on or off in your notification settings.

Advanced Quality Filters on X

You may sometimes receive notifications from certain types of accounts you’d like to avoid. In addition to enabling the quality filter, you can choose to disable notifications from the following types of accounts:

Accounts that are new (that you don’t follow).
X accounts that don’t follow you (that you don’t follow).
Accounts you don’t follow.
Other accounts with a default profile photo (that you don’t follow).
X accounts without a confirmed email address (that you don’t follow).
Accounts without a confirmed phone number (that you don’t follow).

If you want to know who unfollowed you try out Fedica, it’s FREE to use. For years I received the FREE email weekly to know who unfollowed or those who were inactive for 6 months or longer.

Last year I signed up for the premium plan for more options with X and other social networks to save time.

How to Use X Lists to Avoid the Main Feed

If you’re not happy with the X algorithm, make sure to utilize X lists. I use them most of the day instead of my main feed.

You now find lists under the chat/messages tab on X.

With lists, you can stay on topic and keep focused while posting with your clients, colleagues, and friends.

That is unless of course we are in a major political election season, then all bets are off.

I see many in my blogging, social media or SEO feeds becoming activists for their political party. You can mute them until after the election or take them off the list altogether.

So if you haven’t used X Lists yet, be sure to start creating them. This post will help you to get started today.

Recently, I was invited to a new X list of women supporting women: It’s a list where other women share your content, and you share there if it is relevant to your niche and audience.

(However, I don’t recommend sharing others’ content just for the sake of sharing and reciprocation.)

X Communities Another Way To Ignore The Main X Feed

Have you tried X Communities yet? Most that I have joined were not active yet except for one on the topic of SEO.

When you join a Community, you can post directly to that group instead of to all your followers. Only members of that community can reply and share your posts.

You can invite people to your community and you can join other communities as long as you follow the community rules.

Be kind and respectful
Keep posts on the topic
No self-promotion
No spamming allowed

If you start your own community (as a moderator), you can change the description of the 5 rules and how they apply to your community. Sometimes an X post will go viral in a community, and other times it doesn’t.

If you are a blogger, feel free to join my bloggers’ social media community on X.

X has been using trending topics for several years, but there is not always a clear answer to how and why they choose them.

The question “Why was this trending on X Twitter?” was asked over half a million times, back in 2020 on Google.

They have now added pinned posts and descriptions on trends to help explain why something is trending. These trends do have an effect on the X algorithm and what you see on the X social network.

According to X

X went on to say: “In the coming weeks, you should see brief descriptions added to some trends as well to help add context to the trend. Descriptions will provide straightforward, clearly sourced context around why something is trending.”

No more having to scroll through posts to find out why something’s trending.

Furthermore, I hope they explain to all of us on the fast-paced social media network why these posts are trending. It makes many users wonder how the X algorithm works for them?

Breaking News on X and the Algorithm

When there is big breaking news, you will probably see posts everywhere about it or you may see/hear an audio space taking place. That is what happened during the assassination attempt of former President Trump last year and recently with the assasination of Charlie Kirk.

You can talk with others who are feeling the same as you about something. You may learn you are not so alone.

Audio spaces allow you to listen to discussions on various topics throughout the day. Sometimes you can chat with the moderator and others times it is reserved for just the speaker and a moderator of the space.

These are a great way to up your visibility on the X network and engage with other users. You may be able to give the speakers likes and then follow them.

X Display Update

You can now change the colors and font size to view the posts better in your X feed or list. These are nice changes and work both on mobile and desktop.

Go to your display settings on X to see the choices available. X is more accessible now to those who have trouble seeing. You can make the font size much larger.

Also, there is a X nighttime setting that sets the background to black. Do you like these new visible changes with the X display?

X Censorship Stopped By Elon

Yes, X had been censoring posts before Elon Musk came along. He vows to change this as he believes in free speech. If you are on any social media network, you will notice that they are all following X with more censorship on their own networks.

(Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest. You cannot post anything against climate change or question it on Pinterest, or you will be banned.)

My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk – Elon Musk.

One day, you are reading a post, and, the next day it is no longer there, or the X account has been suspended.

The Babylon Bee has been around for a few years and started with a parody blog. They have grown a lot since that time. The Babylon Bee X account was suspended for a short time recently.

However, X lifted its suspension after a few days. Others have not been so lucky.

Big Tech absolutely targets Conservatives. Including the hilarious ones. https://t.co/JTJ0f9lcRG
— BDW (@BryanDeanWright) August 17, 2020

The Babylon Bee wrote about the incident after Twitter reinstated its account.

Twitter Apologizes After Intern Accidentally Sets Coffee On ‘Destroy All Conservatives’ Button https://t.co/8eB9odcaFx
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) August 18, 2020

Many accounts that were censored in 2020 are now back up and available on X in 2026.

You May Be Shadowbanned By X

Yes, you may get shadowbanned on X, according to Elon’s tweet recently. So what is a shadowban?

A shadowban is when a post is de-boosted and cannot be found unless you search for it like a detective. This may also happen over on Instagram.

New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.

Negative/hate posts will be max-deboosted & demonetized, so there will be no ads or other revenue for X.

You won’t find the post unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from the rest of the Internet.

What is a Shadowban?

A shadowban on Xis when your posts are quietly limited so fewer people see them, even though your account still looks normal to you.
You can usually still post and reply, but your content may not appear in search, hashtags, or “For You” feeds, and your replies may be pushed under “Show more replies.”
The result is a sudden drop in reach, impressions, likes, and new followers, with no clear reason.

How Does The X Algorithm Work Better With Your Pinned Post?

Another way to gain traction with your account on X and beat the algorithm a little is to change up your pinned post.

You can change it every 48 hours, and it appears to more of your followers than your other posts on X. Not only that, but it shows to anyone who visits your X profile.

It’s like prime real estate on the X network. Another option is that if you have a subscription, you can add posts to your highlights, but save your best posts for this feature only.

Conclusion: The Ever-Changing Algorithm

In 2026, the X algorithm keeps shifting because X keeps tuning what it rewards, what it downranks, and how it spots low-effort behavior, so you can’t treat any single “hack” as permanent. Your safest conclusion is simple: build posts that earn real reactions, then measure what happens and adjust.

Keep your focus on the signals you can control, like clear topics, tight writing, and steady posting, and watch outcomes in your analytics. Use this quick checklist as your default: prioritize meaningful replies over empty likes, write for the people you want to reach (not everyone), test one change at a time (format, hook, timing), and avoid anything that looks spammy or repetitive.

-When rumors fly, anchor your decisions in primary sources like the X Help Center (https://help.x.com/) and X Developer docs (https://developer.x.com/).

If you stay consistent, review performance weekly, and keep your content useful, you won’t get whiplash every time the algorithm shifts.

Your Thoughts – How Does The X Algorithm Work

Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the X algorithm changes happening on the X social media network.

Do you think the X algorithm will change more in 2026? Let’s discuss it over on X at @Lisapatb

Frequently Asked Questions About the X Algorithm in 2026

How does the X algorithm work on the “For You” feed?

X describes the home timeline recommendation system as a 3-stage process. It first pulls candidate posts from multiple sources, then ranks them with a machine learning model, and then applies filters and rules (for example, removing content from blocked accounts, NSFW content, and posts you’ve already seen).

What X settings most affect what I see in my feed?

Your feed changes based on choices like Latest vs Top posts, what you search for, and what you mute or block. You can also adjust what shows up by going to Settings, Privacy and safety, then Content you see (this includes interests and other feed controls).

What types of posts can hurt reach on X?

The article notes several items tied to reduced visibility, including offensive text, all-caps posts (seen as “shouting”), offensive usernames, and low text quality, such as misspellings. It also lists content that can make posts “disappear,” including crypto spam, copy-paste content, health or crisis misinformation, too many hashtags, multiple trending topics, gore and violence, high-toxicity content, NSFW text, and hateful slurs.

What is Tweepcred and how does it relate to reach?

The article states that Tweepcred appears in the code and assigns a reputation score to users. It also shares examples of what may help, including video watch time (over 10 seconds), dwell time on posts (2+ seconds), and strong engagement signals such as quotes and bookmarks.

How can I reduce the impact of the main feed algorithm?

Two practical options covered are X Lists and X Communities. Lists let you follow a focused set of accounts outside the main feed, and Communities let you post to a group where only members can reply and share, which helps you stay on-topic.

Author
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Lisa Sicard

Owner at Inspire To Thrive, Inc.

Lisa loves helping others to thrive online through Social Media, Blogging, and SEO.
She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 14 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.

Lisa helps her clients with social media, email marketing and some SEO.

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