X, formerly known as Twitter, is pulling the plug on Communities, ending a feature once pitched as a hub for people to gather around shared interests but later viewed inside the company as more trouble than it was worth.
Originally launched in 2021 when the platform was still Twitter, Communities were designed to help users connect through niche conversations and common passions. That vision never fully translated into steady engagement, and executives now say the feature became a magnet for abuse.
“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,” X head of product Nikita Bier wrote while explaining the decision.
He also added, “Of the handful of Communities that succeeded, most were user-acquisition channels for Kick or compensated clipper communities.”
That statement points to a larger issue: instead of serving as discussion spaces, many groups reportedly became traffic funnels pushing audiences toward outside creators and paid content ecosystems. Bier took the criticism even further, calling the failed effort a “Temu version of subreddits,” comparing it to Reddit’s more established forum model.
X says Communities will officially shut down on May 6, 2026. Admins will have time to move members into the platform’s upgraded group chat system, with the migration deadline extended to May 30.
To absorb those users, XChat is adding public “joinable” links that can be shared in posts and pinned on profiles. The chats currently support up to 500 members, with plans to increase that number to 1,000 soon. The messaging product is also expected to become a standalone app.
Even with Communities headed out the door, X says it is still focused on building ways for users to gather. The company recently launched Custom Timelines for Premium subscribers and continues rolling out new tools at a rapid pace.
As Bier said in March, the company is now shipping two to three new features each week.
