X just made a massive chunk of its code public

On Thursday, X announced it’s significantly expanding its open source codebase — and for the first time, users will be able to see if their account or posts have been quietly suppressed by the platform’s ranking systems.

The company is releasing the source code for the “For You” timeline — the default feed you see when you open the app — on GitHub under the Apache v2 license. That’s a big deal on its own, but the move goes further. X is also opening up parts of its code that were previously closed, including model configuration, filters, and core ranking system details. That means the parameters used to weight different signals — the stuff that determines which posts actually surface — are now out in the open.

This makes the codebase roughly 10 to 15 times larger than it was before. Not exactly a small gesture.

What’s actually in the open source release?

According to X’s VP of Product, Keith Coleman, the release gives you the core ranking code that pulls posts, ranks them for any given user, and assembles the feed. But that’s not all.

“You can see the systems that filter out potentially problematic, rule-violating content,” Coleman told TechCrunch. “And some of those systems, like the ranker and the score, you can even run yourself outside the company.”

That’s a notable shift. Previously, X’s algorithm was a black box — even to developers who wanted to understand why certain posts got buried. Now, anyone with the technical chops can run the ranking system themselves.

Coleman admitted this level of openness might surprise people. “This is the kind of thing that I think people will be fairly shocked that we are releasing,” he said.

A new transparency tool for regular users

Of course, not everyone is going to dig through GitHub repositories. So X is also rolling out a transparency tool that’s actually accessible to everyday users.

The new feature lives on an “Under the Hood” page in the app’s settings. It’s currently being tested with a pilot group of accounts that are at least a year old, and it will roll out more broadly later.

Here’s how it works:

• If you’ve posted 10 or more times in the past month, you can download your aggregate stats as a JSON file.
• The file shows whether any labels have been applied to your account or posts over the past calendar month.
• That tells you if you’ve been shadowbanned or otherwise impacted by X’s ranking systems.

Not a technical user? No problem. X suggests you can drop the JSON file into an LLM of your choice, point the AI at X’s GitHub repo, and ask for an interpretation. It’s a practical workaround for people who want answers without learning to code.

External researchers already tested the code

Before the public release, X previewed the codebase to external researchers who specialize in recommendation systems. Those researchers were able to train and run X’s Phoenix scoring system using the open source code — a major milestone, according to Coleman.

Developers can now submit pull requests to the GitHub repository, and X engineers will consider incorporating those updates into the algorithm. Not every suggestion will make the cut, but Coleman is clearly excited about the possibility.

“That would be amazing to have people submitting code that improves the algorithm,” he said. “I mean, how cool would it be for the X algorithm to be not just visible to the public, but also, like, by the public?”

What’s not included (and why)

There are some gaps. Systems that use Grok to predict whether a post might violate a rule are not part of this release. X says that’s intentional — to prevent bad actors from using the code to work around the rules and flood the network with spam.

So while the release is substantial, it’s not total. The company is keeping some cards close to its chest.

Why this matters for shadowban concerns

The changes are aimed at addressing long-standing concerns about how X’s algorithm influences politics, elections, and the spread of misinformation. The platform has been home to political figures and high-profile individuals for years, and it’s now owned by a trillionaire who helped President Trump get elected.

But the transparency issues predate Musk’s ownership. Republicans in Congress alleged years ago that Twitter leaned too far left and claimed the network had “shadowbanned” their posts — making them invisible or undiscoverable without the user’s knowledge. Twitter consistently denied those claims.

Coleman says the goal is to let the public assess how posts are distributed, vet that it’s a level playing field, and critique it if it’s not.

“That’s the whole goal of this: [the code] can be audited; it can be critiqued,” he said. “We’re going to listen, and we want to make the system one that people like and trust, and feel is fair.”

The bigger picture: transparency vs. privacy

There’s some irony here. While X is pushing for more transparency around its code, the company has arguably become less transparent overall under Musk. As a private company, it’s no longer required to report to the SEC, and it’s been less forthcoming about user metrics, growth, revenue, and government takedown requests.

Now that X has merged with SpaceX, its monthly active users are once again public. But the broader picture is mixed — more open in some ways, less in others.

Still, for users who’ve wondered whether their posts were being suppressed, this is a meaningful step. The ability to check your own account’s status, combined with the open source code, gives people a way to verify what’s happening rather than just speculating.

Whether it’s enough to rebuild trust remains to be seen. But it’s a start — and it’s a lot more than most social platforms offer.

The post-election bump has faded

Bluesky rode a wave of discontent out of X in late 2024. Millions signed up after the U.S. elections, eager for a decentralized alternative. But two years on, the numbers tell a sobering story.

According to digital intelligence firm Similarweb, Bluesky’s mobile app had 10.4 million monthly active users worldwide in June 2026. That’s down 27.2% year-over-year. Daily active users fell even harder — 25.6% year-over-year in July, landing around 3 million.

These are not just post-election jitters. The app has lost more than half its monthly active users since its late-2024 peak. Quarterly averages dropped from roughly 22.1 million in Q4 2024 to 10.7 million in Q2 2026. That’s a 52% decline.

So what happened? Some of those who fled X simply didn’t stick around. The initial surge was real, but retention has been the challenge.

Quality over quantity: the committed core

Here’s the silver lining. The people who stayed are actually engaged. Bluesky’s stickiness rate — the ratio of daily to monthly active users — held at roughly 29% in June. That’s about the same as Threads, Meta’s X competitor.

This suggests Bluesky isn’t a ghost town. It’s a smaller, more loyal community. For a platform built on principles rather than scale, that might be enough.

But is it? The company’s public stats claim nearly 46 million registered users. Yet it doesn’t share daily or monthly active figures. Similarweb’s data fills that gap — and it’s not pretty.

Pivoting beyond the app: the AT Protocol bet

New CEO Toni Schneider isn’t panicking. And here’s why: Bluesky’s future may not be the Bluesky app at all.

The company is increasingly focused on the AT Protocol — the underlying infrastructure that powers Bluesky and now a growing ecosystem of third-party apps. Projects like BlackSky and Eurosky are gaining traction. Video-focused Skylight has found early adopters. The company even launched Attie, an AI-powered research tool.

This is a strategic shift. Instead of competing head-to-head with X or Threads for every user, Bluesky is betting that the protocol becomes the backbone for a new wave of social apps. If that happens, the app’s declining numbers matter less.

Private data support is also on the roadmap. That could attract a different type of user — people more interested in closed communities than public squares.

What the data doesn’t show

One fear was that Bluesky’s losses meant a return to X. Similarweb says no. X’s mobile monthly active users were down 3% year-over-year in June. Daily active users fell 7% in July to 123.7 million.

X is still huge, though — around 302 million monthly active users on mobile as of June 2026. Web visits actually grew 5.3% year-over-year to 4.7 billion in July.

So people aren’t rushing back to X. They’re just… leaving Bluesky.

Threads is the real winner

If anyone’s benefiting from Bluesky’s slide, it’s Threads. The Meta-owned app’s daily active users jumped 21.3% year-over-year to 147 million in July 2026. Website visits soared 112% to 471.6 million.

It’s unclear whether Threads is stealing Bluesky’s disenchanted users or attracting people who never used a Twitter-like service. Either way, the momentum is unmistakable.

For Bluesky, the question is whether a protocol-first strategy can sustain the company while the flagship app shrinks. It’s a risky bet. But with a loyal core and a growing developer ecosystem, it’s not a crazy one.

The next year will tell whether Bluesky becomes the decentralized social network that powers a new generation of apps — or just a footnote in the Twitter wars.

Why You Need an AI Creative Director (Even If You’re Solo)

You’ve got ideas. Lots of them. But between recording a voice memo and actually publishing a polished newsletter, a video script, and a carousel — something always breaks. The spark fades. The formatting eats your morning. The post never ships.

That’s the real problem most creators face. Not a lack of ideas. A lack of systems.

An AI creative director built inside Claude can close that gap. It takes one raw voice note and turns it into a thread, a newsletter, a video script, and a carousel — all from a single source. Here’s how to build yours.

What an AI Creative Director Actually Does

Think of it as a layer between your brain and your publishing calendar. You speak. It listens. Then it produces.

The system works like this: you record a voice journal entry — maybe two minutes of rambling about a lesson you learned or a trend you spotted. Claude transcribes it, extracts the core narrative, and then repurposes that narrative into multiple formats, each tailored to a specific platform.

That’s the whole trick. One source. Many outputs. No creative team required.

The Core Components

To build this, you’ll need three things:

• A transcription tool — anything that turns your voice memo into text (Whisper, Otter, or even your phone’s built-in dictation).
• Claude with a custom system prompt — this is your creative director. It holds your brand voice, your content pillars, and your formatting rules.
• A workflow trigger — a simple routine. Record. Paste. Review. Publish.

Once those are in place, you’re not starting from a blank page anymore. You’re starting from your own thinking.

Step 1: Define Your Brand Voice and Content Pillars

Before you let Claude loose on your voice notes, you need to give it guardrails. A creative director who doesn’t know your voice is just a chatbot with delusions of grandeur.

Start by writing a short brand brief. Include:

• Your tone (e.g., “conversational but sharp,” “optimistic and practical”)
• Your audience (who they are, what they struggle with)
• Your content pillars (3–5 recurring topics you want to be known for)
• Your formatting preferences (short paragraphs? bullet points? no emojis?)

Paste this brief into a dedicated Claude project. This becomes your system prompt. Every time you feed it a voice note, it will filter your thinking through that lens.

The result? Consistency. Not just across one post, but across every platform you publish on.

Step 2: Turn a Voice Memo Into a Master Narrative

Here’s where the magic happens. You record a voice note — maybe you’re walking your dog and you crack a new angle on an old problem. You transcribe it and paste it into Claude.

Your prompt might look like this:

“You are my AI creative director. Here is a raw voice memo. Extract the core idea, the key examples, and the actionable takeaway. Then rewrite it as a clean, structured narrative in my brand voice.”

Claude will do the heavy lifting: cutting the rambling, finding the throughline, and turning your scattered thoughts into a tight, readable story. That narrative becomes your master asset.

You review it. Edit it. Approve it. Then — and only then — do you ask for the derivatives.

Step 3: Generate Platform-Specific Content From One Source

Now the fun part. With your approved narrative in hand, you prompt Claude to produce each format. You can do this in one go, or one at a time. Here’s what the output looks like for each channel:

Thread for X (Twitter)

• Hook line that stops the scroll
• 5–7 short, punchy points
• A call-to-action at the end

Newsletter

• Subject line with a curiosity gap
• Expanded narrative with subheadings
• A personal aside or story

Video Script

• Cold open (first 5 seconds)
• Story arc with a problem-solution structure
• Verbal call-to-action

Carousel (LinkedIn or Instagram)

• Title slide with a bold claim
• 5–7 slides, each with one key point
• A final slide with a question or takeaway

Each format gets its own prompt. Each prompt references the master narrative. You’re not asking Claude to invent — you’re asking it to adapt.

That distinction matters. It’s the difference between content that feels generic and content that feels like you.

Step 4: Review, Edit, and Add the Human Touch

Here’s the part people skip: the edit. Claude is fast, but it’s not you. It doesn’t know that inside joke with your audience. It doesn’t know that one anecdote that always lands.

So read every draft like a human. Cut what feels off. Add a personal detail. Tighten the language where Claude got wordy. This is where your creative director earns its keep — not by replacing you, but by giving you a first draft that’s 80% done.

That 20% you add? That’s your voice. That’s what makes it yours.

Building the System Is Easier Than You Think

You don’t need a complex tech stack. You don’t need to code. You need a transcription tool, a Claude project with your brand brief, and a repeatable routine.

Start small. Pick one platform. Record a voice note tomorrow, run it through the system, and publish the result. Then add a second platform. Then a third.

The goal isn’t to automate your creativity. It’s to remove the friction between having an idea and sharing it with the world. And honestly? That’s a creative director’s real job.

If you want to dig deeper into content repurposing workflows or Claude prompting strategies, we’ve got you covered. But the fastest way to learn is to build. So go record that voice memo.