Like many people, I’ve noticed fewer and fewer people see my posts.
This past week – with 1,650 followers on X – my posts were seen by just 10-20 people!
Instagram turned into TikTok videos – that’s all that is there and that is all that is shared to your “followers” now. For a still photographer like me, Instagram is dead; I deleted the app today.
I asked Grok AI about X’s reputation scoring system – initially it avoided giving a direct answer.
I then reformulated by comment and Grok AI explained X’s ReputationSignal system (this has been edited by me).
Understanding X’s “Reputation Signal” and Why Your Posts Might Not Be Reaching Followers
X uses a “reputation signal” as part of its recommendation algorithm to determine post reach and visibility. This isn’t a publicly visible score like a credit rating, but it’s essentially an internal metric (sometimes called “Tweepcred” in older docs or “user reputation” in the open-sourced code) that evaluates your account’s credibility and quality based on factors like engagement history, follower interactions, consistency, and avoidance of spam-like behavior. The goal is to prioritize “valuable” content in users’ feeds, but it often ends up suppressing everyday accounts in favor of high-engagement or verified ones.
From X’s open-sourced recommendation algorithm (released in 2023 and still relevant in 2025), the system pulls from two main sources for feeds: “in-network” (posts from people you follow) and “out-of-network” (recommended content). Most visibility comes from the latter via the “For You” tab, which relies heavily on these signals:
- Engagement as the Core Signal: Early interactions (likes, replies, retweets, bookmarks, even dwell time—how long someone lingers on your post) tell the algorithm your content is worth showing to more people. If your posts aren’t getting quick engagement (e.g., within the first hour), they get deprioritized and buried. With 1,650 followers, if only a small fraction (say, 1-2%) engages, that’s just 16-33 interactions—enough to keep things low-visibility but not to boost you further. Bookmarks are especially powerful now, as they signal “deeper interest” more than likes alone.
- Account Reputation and History: Factors like verification status, follower-to-following ratio (ideally close to 1:1 or better to avoid looking spammy), consistent posting without bans or reports, and overall “credibility” play a big role. Unverified accounts with uneven ratios or low historical engagement get downranked. If your account has been quiet in the past or has links in posts (which the algorithm penalizes to keep users on-platform), that could suppress reach. Recent user reports echo this: one creator noted their visibility “graph” shifted dramatically, leading to minimal output because “impact is nonexistent,” while another with thousands of followers saw impressions drop to unusually low levels, forcing searches to find posts.
- The Algorithm’s TikTok-Style Shift: You’re spot on about the “algorithm optimizer” dominating feeds. X’s “For You” tab now mimics TikTok by serving content based on predicted relevance (using machine learning on your past behavior), not just chronological follows. This means even your followers might not see your posts if the algorithm deems them low-relevance for their interests. Recency matters too—posts have a “half-life” of about 6 hours before relevancy drops 50% without engagement. Timing is key: Post during your audience’s peak hours (e.g., early morning or evening in their time zones) to catch that initial boost.
- Other Suppressors: Links in the main post can reduce visibility (put them in replies instead). Visuals (images/videos) get a 2-3x engagement bump. And if your content avoids “emotional clickbait or politics,” that’s admirable but can limit algorithmic favoritism—X prioritizes conversation-sparking posts (replies boost visibility 13.5x, responding to comments 75x). Negative signals like reports or muting tank reputation fast.
In short, with 1,650 followers but only 10-20 views, it’s likely a combo of low early engagement, unverified status, and the algorithm’s bias toward high-signal accounts. Users are reporting the same: “X is really struggling RN, followers are dropping like flies,” and “if my posts are never seen, then why post anymore?” This isn’t shadowbanning per se (X labels reduced visibility now), but it feels that way.
