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Windows Central

Technology

Sean Endicott

I spent Election week on Twitter (X) but I didn't have to see political posts. This extension uses AI to block mentions of Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, or politics.

X (Organization) Donald Trump Harris Best Buy United States Google Chrome HP LG Microsoft

Hide Politics extension on Google Chrome that blocks political content on X (formerly Twitter).

Politics are important. But let's be honest, they can be exhausting. Sometimes, it's nice to be able to focus on something else in your life without having politics thrown in your face. Whether you hate politics or just want a space on the web where you can interact with others without seeing political content, "Hide Politics" is here to provide a politics-free version of X (formerly Twitter).

Hide Politics is made by X user Jason (@ArDeved). You may recognize that name as the person behind PainPoint.Pro, which uses AI to analyze YouTube comments to create product feedback. Jason is one of my favorite developers right now. Their work is incredibly impressive, but even more so because they're only 15 years old. What I like about Jason's apps is that they use AI to do a bunch of complex stuff behind the scenes then show end users concrete changes. That's the case again here with Hide Politics.

Hide Politics has a free trial, but costs if you want to use it long term. Plans start at $4.99 per month and range up to $59.99 for lifetime access. You can grab the extension now for Google Chrome. While most Chrome extensions also work on Microsoft Edge, I was not able to get Hide Politics to sign in correctly on Edge.

How to block politics on X (Twitter)

Hide Politics goes further than the block and filter settings on X. The extension scans the platform to remove any traces of politics. Specifically, Hide Politics looks at:

Images from tweets
Trending section in explore page
Explore menu in home tab
News tab in explore page
Contents of quoted tweets
Obviously tweet text itself

The extension's developer outlined the above and how the product works in a post on Reddit.

The concept of a politics-free X is a bit ironic given the owner of the social media platform, but I think it's something many want. In its earlier days, X (then Twitter) was a good place for engaging with members of communities, experts, and celebrities. That's all still there, but there's usually at least a sprinkling of politics anywhere you look on the platform.

I don't care about the US electionSo I built this to completely block politics from twitter (hides modalities not possible through X settings)No. More. Politics. Ever. Again. pic.twitter.com/Zggt6IJ1GpNovember 4, 2024

My experience with Hide Politics

Hide Politics is a new extension, but it appears to work well. After installing it, I did not see much political content on X. The extension is not perfect, but it does reduce the amount of political content shown on X greatly.

I was disappointed that I could not get Hide Politics to work on Microsoft Edge. That issue seems to be connected to the extension's sign-in process, which went smoothly on Chrome when running the latest version of the extension.

Previous versions of Hide Politics had some log in issues, so make sure you're on version 1.2 or later of the extension. After that update, logging it worked fine for me on Chrome.

Why isn't this built into X?

Considering a single extension can improve the overall X experience so much, a natural question that comes to mind is "why isn't this built into X?" While I don't know the inner workings of the mind of Elon Musk, I'm confident that X falls into the same category as most social media platforms. Sites like X, Instagram, and TikTok aren't about showing you a curated stream of content you want to see, they're about presenting content you will engage with. That engagement could come in the form of likes, sharing, commenting, or creating more content. When it comes to monetization, engagement is king, and it doesn't matter if that engagement is positive or negative.

In many cases, content that draws negative engagement is better for a social media site. This is all part of a cycle that's comprehensive and rather worrying, though it is probably a bit much to tackle here. But here are just some of the factors involved in an increase in negative headlines:

People are more likely to share negative news on social media.
Negative headlines and news drive people to find out more information, which drives engagement.
Because negative stories get more engagement, content creators produce more negative content.
Social media algorithms promote negative content because that content gets engagement

So, it makes sense to promote negative content if you run a social media company, but that doesn't mean it's what people want. I have two X accounts, one for tech and one for sports. Neither of those accounts are particularly political, though some people I follow share their thoughts on politics from time to time.

But sometimes, I want to be able to follow along with the Washington Commanders community during a game against the Steelers without having to see arguments about Trump vs Harris. I thought it was too much to ask of X, but the Hide Politics extension makes it possible.