X (Twitter) for Windows

Stay engaged and informed with X

X, formerly known as Twitter, is a free social and communication app that lets you post GIFs, pictures, links, polls, text, and videos to a profile in posts that are formerly called ‘tweets’. Your posts will appear on your profile, newsfeed, and the feeds of the people following you. You can also follow people and get followed by other users.

Fleets were removed from X. The fleets were fleeting posts only available for 24 hours to let people know what was happening in their lives. Snapchat created the stories model that Facebook and Instagram followed, along with this platform.

Easy to navigate

An icon bar is at the bottom of the user interface. The home button lets you see your newsfeed. You can click the magnifying glass icon to search for specific accounts, keywords, and topics. The bell image enables you to see your recent notifications. Your direct messages are available in the envelope section of the menu bar.

An icon with a feathered pen and an addition sign lets you write a post, which is easy to create. As you have 280 characters to fill your post, a circular loading bar will fill up with each letter you type. The loading circle will turn orange when you have 20 characters left. A red color will replace the orange when you reach zero. A negative number will appear after each additional character you type in the red zone. You can add media to your tweets, like images and videos, and a GIF library is available.

An attractive part of X is the poll option. You can voice a question and potential responses of up to four different answers. A poll requires a minimum of two choices. You will receive a percentage number that lets you know how many people choose each option. You can determine the length of days, hours, and minutes the poll is up for.

Since you can decide who sees your post by tapping the world picture in the text box, the Post option lets you send your post to Everyone, People you follow, or Only people you mention. Scheduled tweets allow you to send announcements on a preset date and time. You can tap the Schedule button to set up your post.

The Explore tab features news about world events, interests, entertainment, and more. The trending section will list topics being talked about in the form of hashtags. You can repost tweets from other accounts with the repost feature, and your reposts will appear on your profile.

Is X free?

While X is free, the platform has advertisements on your timeline as promoted posts. The ads can come from accounts you do not follow, and you can tell that the posts are ads when a Promoted icon is at the bottom of them

Is X safe?

This platform has become known for censoring profiles and posts, as too often, this social media platform is filled with hostile conversations. Since this app has removed accounts during periods of debate, the tech company has elevated, instead of alleviated, societal tensions. The marketing around the brand tries to incite trust, yet a deeper look reveals biased actions and intentions. For a forum that promotes free speech, you can try Parler, an alternative to this app.

X search is for registered users only

In the past, X allowed both registered and unregistered users to utilize a search field. However, this functionality has since been discontinued. When you visit the X website without logging in, unregistered users are limited to browsing the Explore tab, which offers a curated selection of tweets. The X search field is now exclusively accessible after signing in to your account.

Rebrand to ‘X’

Following Elon Musk’s takeover of the app, it has been renamed from ‘Twitter’ to ‘X’ and the lively, little blue bird has been replaced with a rather drab X icon. Other brand- and terminology-related changes were implemented, as well, such as replacing “tweets” with “posts” and “retweets” with “reposts.” Interestingly, these changes don’t seem to reflect on the domain URL when the platform is being accessed via desktop, as what’s supposed to be “x.com” still spells “twitter.com.”

More changes are expected to come as Musk has plans to turn the social network into an “everything” app, similar to WeChat.

Is it worth it to get X?

X enables users to share a wide range of content through tweets. Its user-friendly interface and cross-platform compatibility provide an accessible social media experience. However, it's important to note that X search is now restricted to registered users, while unregistered users can only explore the curated content on the Explore tab.