X tests animated arm pointing users toward promoted posts
X users report an animated arm in the post composer pointing at “promote,” apparently a test; X has not commented.
The animation has been reported in multiple posts and screenshots from users, according to Engadget. It appears only briefly and points at the promote button. The change does not appear to have reached all accounts. The promote button is shown in the composer view for accounts with a paid X Premium subscription.
Users have questioned whether the arm is a Halloween joke, a prank or a persistent prompt they will have to ignore when posting. One user, MartaTrades, wrote that she was about to publish a typical post when she was “spooked by this animated hand pointing at promoting it.” Another user, Casey, said a “giant arm came out pointing at the ‘promote’ button” while posting a photo of a new iPhone Duo.
Grok also responded to users asking about the arm. “That hand is real—not a glitch or pure Easter egg,” the bot told one user, according to Engadget. “Lots of users got the same jumpscare today. No official word if it's intentional design or Halloween timing.” Grok gave similar replies to other perplexed users.
The arm's appearance roughly coincides with X hiring Peter Sellis as its new head of product. Sellis is taking over from Nikita Bier and previously held similar roles at Discord and Snap. Like Bier, he is known as something of a shitposter. In his post announcing he was joining X, he said that “it's time to make shitposting multiplanetary.” It is not clear how an unexplained arm would contribute to that goal, and Sellis has not publicly commented on the arm.
There has been some speculation that the hand could be the work of Sellis, but X has not confirmed that. The arm could also be a Halloween-related prank, as Grok has speculated. A representative for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the hand.
Editor's Summary
X users are seeing a brief animated arm in the post composer that points at the “promote” button, a feature apparently limited to paid X Premium accounts and not yet explained by the company. The timing coincides with X's new head of product, while Grok has said there is no official word on whether the arm is intentional design or Halloween timing.