X Introduces Under the Hood Feature to Show Post Visibility and Label Statistics

• X’s Under the Hood feature shows eligible users aggregate post visibility and account label statistics.
• Accounts must be at least one year old and have 10 monthly posts.
• A new October update identifies flagged post IDs when labels affect fewer than five percent of posts.

X has expanded its Under the Hood transparency feature, giving eligible users more information about how labels affect the visibility of their posts. The feature provides aggregate statistics about account and post labels, offering creators a clearer view of how X applies visibility-related restrictions.

The feature is part of X’s response to long-running criticism about shadowbanning and reduced post reach. It first entered pilot testing on August 13, 2026, before expanding to all eligible users on September 19. However, the report does not directly confirm whether an individual account has been shadowbanned. It provides aggregate label and visibility information instead.

What Is X’s Under the Hood Transparency Feature?

Under the Hood is a transparency feature that allows eligible X users to view statistics about labels applied to their posts and accounts. These labels can affect how content appears across the platform, including whether posts are recommended to people who do not follow the account.

X began testing the feature on August 13, 2026. The company expanded access to all eligible users on September 19, including information about labels applied following government requests.

The feature covers the previous calendar month rather than providing a live report. X describes the information as best-effort, meaning the report should not be treated as a complete record of every visibility decision made by the platform.

Who Can Access X Under the Hood?

Not every X account can access the transparency report. The feature has two eligibility requirements that users must meet:

• Account age: The X account must be at least one year old.
• Recent activity: The account must have published at least 10 posts during the previous month.

Accounts that do not meet both conditions are not eligible to access the report. Meeting these requirements allows eligible users to check their available label and visibility statistics.

October Update Adds Flagged Post IDs

An October 30 update from XOpenSource introduced another change to the Under the Hood report. When a label affects fewer than five per cent of a user’s posts, the report now identifies the specific post IDs affected by that label.

This addition gives eligible users more detail when a label affects a relatively small number of posts. Instead of seeing only an aggregate figure, they can identify the specific posts associated with the reported label.

The change does not turn the report into a complete post-by-post moderation history. The report continues to focus on aggregate label and visibility statistics, with the additional post ID information applying to the specified low-frequency cases.

What Information Does the Report Show?

The Under the Hood report provides information about labels affecting an account and its posts. It helps users understand how certain labels may influence the distribution and visibility of their content.

What Does the SPAM_HIGH_RECALL Label Mean?

One example of a visibility-related label shown in the context of the feature is SPAM_HIGH_RECALL. This label indicates that affected posts are hidden from recommendations to non-followers.

In practical terms, existing followers may still be able to see the affected posts, but those posts are not recommended to people who do not follow the account. This can reduce the opportunity for content to reach a wider audience through recommendations.

Understanding these labels can help creators get more information about how X handles their content. However, a particular label should not automatically be treated as proof of a full account-level restriction or shadowban.

How to Download the X Under the Hood Report

Eligible users can access their transparency report through X’s dedicated Under the Hood page. Follow these steps:

1. Open a browser and visit x.com/i/under_the_hood.
2. Sign in to your eligible X account.
3. Open the available Under the Hood report.
4. Review the aggregate account and post label statistics.
5. Download the report in JSON format if you want to examine the data separately.

If the report is unavailable, check whether your account is at least one year old and has published at least 10 posts in the previous month.

Does Under the Hood Confirm Whether an Account Is Shadowbanned?

No. Under the Hood should not be treated as a direct shadowban checker. X deliberately avoids using the term shadowban when describing this feature.

Instead, it provides aggregate information about labels applied to posts and accounts, along with visibility-related statistics. These details can help users understand certain restrictions, but they do not establish that an account has been individually shadowbanned.

The feature is therefore best understood as a transparency measure. It gives eligible users additional information about content visibility at a time when creators have raised concerns about reduced reach and unclear platform moderation decisions.

Conclusion

X’s Under the Hood feature provides eligible users with aggregate statistics about account and post labels that can affect content visibility. The October 30 update adds specific flagged post IDs in cases where a label affects fewer than five per cent of a user’s posts. While the feature addresses long-running shadowban criticism by offering more transparency, it does not independently confirm individual shadowban decisions. Eligible users can download their previous month’s report in JSON format from X.

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