# X (Twitter) algorithm changes in 2026

**Last updated 2026-10-11.** This is a changelog of the public tree [`xai-org/x-algorithm`](https://github.com/xai-org/x-algorithm), gathered in [`X_ALGORITHM_BOOST_PLAYBOOK.md`](https://github.com/abhirupghosh/tweet-factory/blob/main/X_ALGORITHM_BOOST_PLAYBOOK.md) and the repo README. Search phrases like “X algorithm news” and “Twitter algorithm updates 2026” land here. Commit subjects in this list are “Open-source X Recommendation Algorithm” unless the README gives a different label. The repo does not attach these diffs to a personal announcement, so this page does not invent one.

The pipeline those commits sit on is [How the X (Twitter) algorithm works](how-the-x-algorithm-works.md).

## 2026-10-09 — `cb45b55`

Ranker attention and sequence packing inside `phoenix/xrex/`. The param file is touched to bump the sync timestamp. This is the commit the rest of these docs quote. Weight values in `home-mixer/params/param.rs` are the 2026-10-08 mirror (`last sync 2026-10-08T16:00:35Z`).

## 2026-10-08 — `35650fb`

Video carousel parameters, default off. A video aspect-ratio hydrator. Favorite-count hydration on the Phoenix retrieval index (`phoenix-rankall/src/hydrate/fav_counts.rs`), so popularity can enter what is indexed, separate from the ranking sum.

## 2026-10-07 — `78460ca`

`PostUnexploredWeight` moves from 0.02 to 0.015. `EnablePopularPostsSource` moves from false to true. The popular-posts source cap in the playbook is `PopularPostsMaxResults` 500. The README describes that list as starting from the most-followed active accounts.

## 2026-10-06 — `e62790c`

The vm-ranker cluster default moves from `Experiment6` to `Experiment1`. The playbook does not describe what traffic each experiment name serves. A default change is not a measurement of whose feed flipped.

## 2026-09-29 — Brazil election list

The README says the account list behind `Brazil2026ElectionFilter` was updated on this date. The filter removes posts from accounts reported to Brazil’s electoral court unless the viewer follows them (`home-mixer/filters/brazil_2026_election_filter.rs`). That is a candidate filter, not a weight.

## 2026-09-04 — `e4dcedd`

A community change that dedupes in-network ids before a visibility-filtering lookup. Visibility itself stays a separate service. See [Shadowban on X](shadowban-on-x.md).

## 2026-08-13 — README release

The README’s August 13, 2026 section is the large public cutover:

- Key configuration parameters, including the weights that blend predicted actions.
- Code for systems that can filter a post out of For You.
- Phoenix demonstration model replaced by training code and synthetic data, so a proof-of-concept training run is possible.
- `visibility-filtering/` decides show, drop, or interstitial.
- Label-producing systems named in that section include botmaker, scarecrow, agatha, bdsm, `user-cred-v2/`, media models, and enforcement.
- SimClusters ships as an out-of-network source beside Thunder and Phoenix retrieval.

The old demo weights (favorite 1.0, reply 0.5) lived in `phoenix/run_pipeline.py`, which is not in the tree after this release.

## 2026-07-24 — mutual reply boost

`docs/BIDIRECTIONAL_BOOST_CHANGE.md` in the x-algorithm repo records the reply boost on an original from a mutual follow: tested at +20, settled at +15 on 2026-07-24. The published reply weight is then 5, or 20 on that original. A reply you send does not receive the +15.

## What did not change

Still absent after these commits: a day-of-week posting constant, a coded percentage penalty for a link in the post (`open_link` remains +0.2), a bookmark head, a Premium term in the weighted sum, and a numeric cutoff on `slop_score`. The Grox prompts are still not in the repo. Experiments can still override a default per viewer. `WeightPerturbationSigma` defaults to 0.0.

## Related

- [How the X (Twitter) algorithm works](how-the-x-algorithm-works.md)
- [Twitter algorithm on GitHub](twitter-algorithm-github.md)
- [Myths: links, hashtags, bookmarks, Premium](x-algorithm-myths.md)

## FAQ

### What changed in the X algorithm in 2026?

In the public repository: the August 13 release published weights and visibility filtering and replaced the demo Phoenix model; the mutual reply boost settled at +15 on July 24; popular posts turned on and `post_unexplored` became 0.015 on October 7; favorite counts were added to Phoenix index hydration on October 8. Details and commit ids are the sections above.

### Where is the Twitter algorithm news for 2026?

This page is that list, limited to commits and README notes. It does not reprint social-post commentary. If a claim is not tied to a path in `xai-org/x-algorithm`, it is not on this page.

### Did a 2026 update punish links or hashtags?

Not in these commits. `open_link` is +0.2. There is no hashtag counter in the ranking sum. `SpamHashTagAbuse` and `SpamScamLinks` are classifier labels whose prompts are unpublished. See [the myths page](x-algorithm-myths.md).