X adds joinable links
- X rolled out joinable links for group chats that can host up to 350 members and will deprecate Communities on May 6, 2026. - The update replaces the Communities product and adds link-based entry for larger group conversations. - The change simplifies how niche groups form on X and shifts community interaction toward chat links (x.com).
X is replacing Communities with joinable links for group chats, shifting niche conversations on the platform into XChat. (x.com) In a post on April 22, X head of product Nikita Bier said XChat now supports public invite links for group chats and that each chat can hold up to 350 members. He said Communities will be deprecated on May 6, 2026. (x.com) The new links let a user create a public entry point and share it directly to the timeline, instead of asking people to apply to or browse a separate Community page. TechCrunch reported the change alongside X’s rollout of AI-powered custom feeds. (x.com) (techcrunch.com) Communities had been X’s forum-like product for topic groups, with dedicated spaces for posts, moderators and membership rules. X had still been adding Community tools in 2023 and 2024, including member-vetting questions for private groups and new analytics and moderation features. (techcrunch.com) (socialmediatoday.com) The new setup moves those conversations closer to X’s messaging product, XChat, which began rolling out in beta in 2025 as a more advanced replacement for legacy direct messages. TechCrunch reported at the time that XChat was designed to add features such as stronger group messaging, file sharing and other messaging tools. (techcrunch.com) The 350-member cap is also a jump from X’s earlier group-chat limits. In March 2024, X raised the ceiling to 256 members after earlier increases to 100 and 200. (socialmediatoday.com) Other social apps have been pushing similar chat-based group features, though at different scales. Social Media Today reported that Threads group chats launched with support for up to 50 participants, while WhatsApp has long used invite links and admin controls for larger groups. (socialmediatoday.com) (techcrunch.com) For existing Communities, the key date is May 6. After that, X’s own product announcement points users toward chat links, not Community pages, as the main way to gather a crowd around a topic. (x.com)
