X says link deboosting is a myth, head of product recommends putting links in the post body

On April 13, Nikita Bier, X's head of product, once again denied on X the view that posts with links are deboosted, stating that clicks on links on X are higher than ever.

In response to a post claiming that posting links on X results in penalties, he replied, "Fake news," and also said that links should be placed in the body text of the post, with enough context so users can understand what they will see at the destination before they click.

X again denies as false the claim that links are disadvantaged

On April 13, Nikita Bier, X's head of product, replied "Fake news" to a post claiming that posting links on X results in penalties, thereby denying that view.

In that post, he stated that clicks on links on X are higher than ever, suggesting that posting links does not limit impressions or reach.

This statement can be seen as a clear denial of the persistent view that posts containing links are being downranked by the algorithm.

As of last October, Bier had also explained that X was not directly deboosting posts with links, while expressing the view that posts with links are less likely to spread because users tend to forget to like or reply to the original post after opening the link.

Is “posts with links are penalized” on X a myth? Head of Product denies it

Among some users, a theory has been spreading that when you post on X with a link, the algorithm down-scores it, making the post less likely to gain traction. However, X Head of Product Nikita Bier posted “Links are not deboosted” on his own X account, denying this theory.

October 20, 2025

Furthermore, around the same time, X began testing on iOS a UI that keeps the original post visible at the bottom of the screen when a link is opened within the X app, with the aim of making it easier for users to react to the original post even while viewing the link.

X tests keeping the original post visible while viewing links, starting with iOS

Nikita Bier, X's head of product, posted on his X account that they are starting an iOS test to let followers easily react to the original post while viewing a link.

October 20, 2025

More recently, X has also rolled out to X Lite for Android a UI that keeps the original post visible at the bottom of the screen even after a link is opened, and this may be related to Bier's statement that clicks on links are higher than ever.

The head of product recommends putting links in the body text

I previously posted on X that if you want an announcement post to be widely shared, you should put the link in a reply, whereas if you want people to visit the announcement website, you should put the link in the original post.

It is generally known that the more clicks required, the higher the user drop-off rate tends to be, so a link placed in a reply is likely to have a lower chance of being opened compared with a link placed in the original post.

Conversely, when a link is placed in an announcement post, users are more likely to forget to share it after opening the link.

For that reason, my argument was that if you want an announcement post to be widely shared, you should put the link in a reply, whereas if you want people to visit the announcement website, you should put the link in the original post.

However, the situation has changed since I made that post.

The UI that keeps the original post visible at the bottom of the screen even after a link is opened has been rolled out widely, and Bier has stated that clicks on links are higher than ever.

Putting a link in a reply lowers the probability that users will click it, and there is no longer any reason to avoid placing a link in the body text of a post.

In fact, regarding how to post links, Bier said, "Just post the link in the body of the post and provide sufficient context about what the user will see before they click it," recommending that links be included in the body text of the post.

There is no longer any advantage to separating the link into a reply. Going forward, unless there is a specific reason not to, it would be better to place links in the body text of the post rather than in replies.

However, please note that it is necessary not merely to paste a link, but also to include sufficient context in the text.

Bier has previously stated that a post should stand on its own even without a link and needs a solid caption.

In this latest post as well, he outlined a way of posting links that involves providing sufficient context about the destination.

Conclusion

Nikita Bier, X's head of product, once again denied the view on X that posts with links are disadvantaged, and also said that when posting links, they should be placed in the body text of the post with enough context so users can understand what they will see at the destination before they click.

There is no longer any reason to separate links into replies when posting them, so unless there is a specific reason not to, it would be better to place links in the body text of the post.