'Popular posts' goes live, and fresh posts get a smaller kick
Popular posts now feed into For You
The popular-posts source from 3 Oct is now switched on by default. Already-popular posts from top authors get an extra route into people's feeds.
What to do: If you're a bigger account, momentum matters more: a post that's already taking off can get pushed further.
high confidence High confidence: the setting itself changed in the code. Source commit 78460ca
Smaller boost for brand-new, untested posts
The weight X gives to 'unexplored' posts dropped from 0.02 to 0.015, a 25% cut. Fresh posts get a bit less free trial exposure.
What to do: Your first hour matters a bit more. Post when your followers are online so early engagement does the work.
high confidence High confidence: the setting itself changed in the code. Source commit 78460ca