![Tell HN: X is opening any tweet link in a webview whether you press it or not
247 points by stillatit 10 hours ago | hide | past | favorite | 200 comments
Just saw the CEO of Substack celebrating traffic from X/Twitter shooting up thinking they stopped suppressing tweets with links[0]. Actually, this traffic is because now any time you open a tweet with a link, the in-app webview loads in the background, and displays when you press the link.
I run an ecom store that gets a lot of its customers from Twitter. I was also shocked to see my traffic double or triple overnight and thought the algorithm had blessed me and my business. Soon realized what was actually happening. Thought other traffic-monitors might appreciate this explanation.
Meanwhile Nikita Bier is pretending they never suppressed tweets with links to begin with, offering the alternative explanation: "a common complaint is that posts with links tend to get lower reach. This is because the web browser covers the post and people forget to Like or Reply. So X doesn't get a clear signal whether the content is any good"[1]. A bit of a rewriting of history since Elon and his mom both tweeted about how it wasn't fair to use his platform to promote other links/platforms, even banning people who shared profiles of other social networks (including Paul Graham for a period). They suppressed all links shortly after.
[0] https://x.com/cjgbest/status/1985464687350485092
[1] https://x.com/nikitabier/status/1979994223224209709](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:tpg43qhh4lw4ksiffs4nbda3/bafkreia62cq7p2dn2o76cjuuzl5dpwaatnf5m5cl5bm7lmoprsavebgl4q@jpeg)
Tell HN: X is opening any tweet link in a webview whether you press it or not
247 points by stillatit 10 hours ago | hide | past | favorite | 200 comments
Just saw the CEO of Substack celebrating traffic from X/Twitter shooting up thinking they stopped suppressing tweets with links[0]. Actually, this traffic is because now any time you open a tweet with a link, the in-app webview loads in the background, and displays when you press the link.
I run an ecom store that gets a lot of its customers from Twitter. I was also shocked to see my traffic double or triple overnight and thought the algorithm had blessed me and my business. Soon realized what was actually happening. Thought other traffic-monitors might appreciate this explanation.
Meanwhile Nikita Bier is pretending they never suppressed tweets with links to begin with, offering the alternative explanation: "a common complaint is that posts with links tend to get lower reach. This is because the web browser covers the post and people forget to Like or Reply. So X doesn't get a clear signal whether the content is any good"[1]. A bit of a rewriting of history since Elon and his mom both tweeted about how it wasn't fair to use his platform to promote other links/platforms, even banning people who shared profiles of other social networks (including Paul Graham for a period). They suppressed all links shortly after.
[0] https://x.com/cjgbest/status/1985464687350485092
[1] https://x.com/nikitabier/status/1979994223224209709
Looks like X is juicing web visit numbers by opening a browser WebView in the background whether the user visits the link or not.
They've re-invented pop-under fraud (allegedly).
news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4580...
04.11.2025 16:09 β π 1063 π 280 π¬ 26 π 37
Apple has released iOS 26.1!
03.11.2025 21:13 β π 12 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
Man kann nur hoffen, dass ihre Seminare besser sind als die maximal durchschnittlichen Fotos :/
02.11.2025 14:49 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Die Fotografin unserer Kita macht besonders tolle Werbung: βwie ich mit nur 3 AuftrΓ€gen 10.000β¬ Umsatz macheβ β¦
02.11.2025 14:44 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Schade, gab keine 50β¬ Mystery Box. Immerhin das Konto freut sich π
02.11.2025 12:20 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Heute ist schon wieder verkaufsoffen Oo
Nochmal eine PokΓ©mon Mystery Box holen? Wennβs schon 20% Rabatt gibtβ¦ π€
02.11.2025 08:58 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Internet State of the Union
01.11.2025 10:24 β π 62 π 24 π¬ 0 π 0
Uns wurde geholfen und ggf ΓΌbernimmt sogar der Netzbetreiber die kosten, aber mal sehen. :D
30.10.2025 11:31 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Techniker war da. Inkl passendem Ersatzteil. Die WΓ€rmepumpe geht wieder. Geil! π₯³
30.10.2025 11:14 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Anfrage beim Hersteller.
Erster RΓΌckruf: morgen kommt ein Techniker.
Kurz darauf noch ein RΓΌckruf: heute kommt jemand. MEGA!
Bin gespannt wie teuer der SpaΓ wird...
30.10.2025 09:22 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Die WΓ€rmepumpe hat es nicht ΓΌberlebt. Fuck. Platine defekt laut Fehlercode. π©
30.10.2025 06:31 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 2 π 0
Heute Nacht war der Strom gut eine Stunde weg. Das hatten wir auch schon lange nicht mehr.
30.10.2025 05:49 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Available from 11/04/2025 - 12/01/2025.
Your PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for November:
π Stray
β EA Sports WRC 24
π Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
All playable from Nov 4. Full details: play.st/3WOddyZ
29.10.2025 15:30 β π 425 π 70 π¬ 27 π 39
π§ͺ NEW BETA RELEASES π§ͺ
π± iOS 18.7.2 RC (22H123)
π± iOS 26.1 RC (23B82)
π± iPadOS 18.7.2 RC (22H123)
π± iPadOS 26.1 RC (23B82)
π» macOS 26.1 RC (25B77)
πΊ tvOS 26.1 RC (23J580)
π₯½ visionOS 26.1 RC (23N48)
β watchOS 26.1 RC (23S36)
#apple #infosec
28.10.2025 20:20 β π 0 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
iOS 26.1 RC is out now π₯
28.10.2025 20:08 β π 14 π 4 π¬ 0 π 0
TIL: the Bluesky App has a hidden App icon settings page.
bsky.app/settings/app...
28.10.2025 11:55 β π 1 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
Die Sache mit dem Stadtbild.
28.10.2025 07:28 β π 15 π 3 π¬ 0 π 0
The updated Bluesky app icon.
v1.109 is rolling out today! #NewProfilePic
We've given the app a mini makeover with some new shades of blues! Plus, a whole bunch of bug fixes and performance improvements to make your experience better.
27.10.2025 19:49 β π 9592 π 1164 π¬ 777 π 447
Und ja, ich hab vergessen Fotos zu machen & bis auf das Pichu haben mir die Kids bereits alles abgenommen π
26.10.2025 19:37 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Heute war ein guter Tag.
Verkaufsoffen, bei MΓΌller gab es 20%, Pokemon Mystery Boxen vorhanden, fΓΌr 40 statt 50β¬. Gemacht!
PlΓΌschtier: Pichu, 45cm, schlafend π
Vinyl Figure - Glumanda
Battle Figure Pack - Pikachu & Kwaks
Tasse (Plastik)
Becher mit Strohhalm
ca25 Karten, paar Holos
KartenhΓΌllen
26.10.2025 19:37 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
All Inkl Urlaub mit 4 Kindern suchen. Uff. Uff. Uff. π©
Und das nicht nur wegen dem Preis. Bei bisher keinem Anbieter gibt es genug Betten im Angebot. π
25.10.2025 18:37 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
oh no! >.<
23.10.2025 08:54 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Text Shot: Zwischenfall bei der BundeswehrΓΌbung "Marshal Power" in Erding: Ein Soldat wurde durch einen Polizeischuss verletzt. Laut Angaben der Polizei soll eine "Fehlinterpretation vor Ort" zu dem Vorfall gefΓΌhrt haben. Was bisher bekannt ist.
Meldungen wo du eigentlich dreimal guckst, ob das nicht vom #Postillion istβ¦
GroΓeinsatz in #Erding - Polizei schieΓt Soldat bei Γbung an
www.br.de/nachrichten/baβ¦
23.10.2025 05:51 β π 0 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
Our fav game since a few months: unonomercyrules.com
21.10.2025 19:00 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
PSA: we're aware that Signal is down for some people. This appears to be related to a major AWS outage. Stand by.
20.10.2025 08:00 β π 972 π 257 π¬ 50 π 69
Ach, das meinte ich nicht mal, aber egal :)
Mona ist am iPad ganz gut, falls du eine Client Empfehlung hΓΆren magst.
19.10.2025 21:05 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Meet me in Fediverse @anikke@bildung.social oder @anikke@procial.tchncs.de
Socket is the #1 software supply chain security platform. Next-gen SCA + SBOM + 0-day prevention. LOVED BY DEVELOPERS.
https://socket.dev
I verb my nouns. Long suffering Mets fan. Not Paul's cat. S&O @ π¦
Designer @bsky.app βοΈ aka Mr. Numaπ₯
Product, XR, Motion, 3D
Appreciator of beautiful things
On a side quest to find the perfect salad π₯
Dinge, Kram und sonstiges Zeug
Blog: https://rausgerufen.de/
#StΓ€dteRegionAachen #RefugeesWelcome #fckafd #LegalizeWeed #CovidIsNotOver
Catbird is a native iOS client for Bluesky.
Try the beta on iPhone, iPad, and Mac: https://testflight.apple.com/join/8zPe2QG8
Open Source on GitHub:
https://github.com/joshlacal/Catbird
(donβt judge me for my bad code π
)
Security. People matter most.
Try news.stonking.com π°
dec/acc π± πͺ΄ π³ * πΈπ§
a reddit-alternative built on atproto
nooki.me
Bellingcat is an independent investigative collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists brought together by a passion for open source research.
Want to support our charity? bellingcat.com/donate
devops monkey | ex-infosec | iot | perl | video games | boats | sailing | spicy food lover | blues | rock | cat person | amateur bass player | languages: nl, en, fr, de, id
Corruptress of protocols, working on trust & safety tech, open-source contributor. You've probably used tech I've contributed to. π³οΈββ§οΈ π³οΈβπ π©πͺ
I'm on the Fediverse: https://hachyderm.io/@thisismissem
Bridged: @thisismissem.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
We are Microsoft's global network of security experts. Follow for security research and threat intelligence. https://aka.ms/threatintelblog
β Cybersecurity reporter
β
Newsletters at Risky Business
#infosec #cybersecurity
https://risky.biz
Remaking consumer electronics to respect people and the planet. π»πͺ
For support visit http://support.frame.work
Founder and Editor-in-Chief @macstories.net. I write about iPad, iOS, indie apps, and making computers more fun.
I also co-host @appstories.macstories.net, a podcast about Apple and the world of apps, and @npc.macstories.net, a show about handhelds.
head of product @bsky.app
build a better internet with us: bsky.social/about/join
A blog about Ubuntu β est. 2009! Follow to get news, tips, cool apps, and other content about the world's most popular desktop Linux distro.
Bandaid Engineer. I post mostly about coding, ATProto, embedded devices, and things like that. Sometimes serious, mostly just killing time.
Y'all means all π³οΈβπ
πMiddle Tennessee
β½οΈNashville SC
chief lurker: @jenn.bsky.social
RC F'13, F2'17
Cryptogopher / Go cryptography maintainer
Professional open source maintainer
https://filippo.io / https://github.com/FiloSottile
https://mkcert.dev / https://age-encryption.org
https://sunlight.dev / https://filippo.io/newsletter
