Elon Musk now looking to hide reply, like and retweet numbers on Twitter/X

Elon Musk has announced that he plans to hide the number of replies, retweets and likes on posts shown on X/Twitter.

The announcement of his new plans to modify the social media platform comes days after the site stopped displaying news story headlines for some users.

Prior to this latest update, users were able to see the full headline – or a headline that had been adapted for social media – above a short description that provided further information about the piece in question. These were known as ‘Cards‘.

PREVIEW: X will remove the interaction counts (likes, reposts) from the main timeline, leaving only view counts. You will be able to see these numbers when you tap into a post.

The intent of this is to improve readability. pic.twitter.com/RMbypx3bwh

— X News Daily (@xDaily) October 6, 2023

Musk revealed the plans to get rid of the action buttons on a subscriber-only post to the platform.

It read: “Those ugly URL cards with repetitive text were making my eyes bleed. So much better now! Next, we’ll remove all the action buttons with their superfluous interaction counts from the main timeline. Just view count will show, unless you tap into a post. This will greatly improve readability.”

This is the latest slate of updates the tech billionaire is set to bring to the platform – which he bought last year for $44billion.

Last month, he announced that the site will likely start charging its users. Currently, X charges users for its subscription service X Premium that offers advantages such as a verified account checkmark. It costs $11 (£8.87) per month in the US for iPhones and £11 per month in the UK.

Although unconfirmed, Musk told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting that a subscription would probably cost “a few dollars” a month for users [via the Guardian].

Musk explained that a paywall would help the business keep bots at bay and generate money lost by a “60 per cent” drop in advertising revenue on the platform.

Elsewhere, the platform was sued under its X Corp title by a Florida-based legal marketing company that claims the platform’s rebrand infringes its trademark.

The lawsuit filed by X Social Media on Monday, October 2 alleges that Musk‘s decision over the summer to change Twitter’s name to X has caused consumer confusion, particularly over the use of the letter “X” in its brand design.

In legal documents seen and shared by Reuters , representatives of the Florida-based firm X Social Media claim that the title “X Social Media” is owned by the company under a trademark and has been operating under that name since 2016.

This not the first time Musk has been sued by a company or person. His ex-partner, Grimes, is reportedly suing him over custody rights to their youngest child, Techno Mechanicus.

The artist, real name Claire Boucher, filed a “petition to establish parental relationship” last Friday (September 29), according to TMZ, and claimed that Musk isn’t letting her visit him.

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