Update January 5, 2024 11:45 AM IST:
Elon Musk-owned social network X is showing headlines on link preview images again on the web. Earlier this week, the social platform rolled out a new format of showing the title in tiny text on top of the image of the URL card. However, the change was rolled back hours later.
Image Credits: Screenshot by TechCrunch
The headline is changed to reflect the latest update. The original story from earlier this week follows.
X (formerly Twitter) started showing headlines at the bottom of link preview cards again on Tuesday using a small font. However, hours later the company seemingly pulled the new format.
Multiple users and publications reported that they could see titles on link cards on the web. They also noted that some titles were cut off because of length limits.
Image Credits: TechCrunch
Musk first talked about removing headlines from URL preview cards in August for “improved aesthetics.” In October, the social network implemented the change. Multiple publications had to alter the way they posted stories on X to adapt to headline removal.
In November, Musk said that X would start showing titles again in link cards in the upper part of the image “in an upcoming release” without specifying a timeline.
Because there was no official announcement from the company, it is not clear why the Elon Musk-owned network pulled the new format that showed headlines. As the layout rolled out on Tuesday showed the title on the bottom part of the image, it could be possible that it might get a makeover to match Musk’s promised version.
These changes were not visible on X’s iOS app. Meanwhile, the Android app still shows link previews in the old style before Musk implemented the headline removal, so people using the Android app can see the headline below the image in the preview card.