About X Spaces

Anyone can join, listen, and speak in a Space on X for iOS and Android. Currently, starting a Space on web is not possible, but anyone can join and listen in a Space.

People on X for iOS and Android can start a Space.

For now, all Spaces are public like posts, which means they can be accessed by anyone. They will automatically appear at the top of your Home timeline, and each Space has a link that can be shared publicly. Since Spaces are publicly accessible by anyone, it may be possible for people to listen to a Space without being listed as a guest in the Space.

We make certain information about Spaces available through the X Developer Platform, such as the title of a Space, the hosts and speakers, and whether it is scheduled, in progress, or complete. For a more detailed list of the information about Spaces we make available via the X API, check out our Spaces endpoints documentation. 

Spaces can be listened to by anyone on the Internet. This is part of a broader feature of Spaces that lets anyone listen to Spaces regardless of whether or not they are logged in to a X account (or even have a X account). Because of this, listener counts may not match the actual number of listeners, nor will the profile photos of all listeners necessarily be displayed in a Space. 

Invite people to join a Space by sending an invite via DM, posting the link out to your Home timeline, or copying the invite link to send it out.

For now, all Spaces are public and anyone can join any Space as a listener. If the listener has a user account, you can block their account. If you create a Space or are a speaker in a Space, your followers will see it at the top of their timeline.

By default, your Space will always be set to Only people you invite to speak. You can also modify the Speaker permissions once your Space has been created. Select the  icon, then select Adjust settings to see the options for speaker permissions, which include Everyone, People you follow, and the default Only people you invite to speak. These permissions are only saved for this particular Space, so any Space you create in the future will use the default setting.

Once your Space has started, you can send requests to listeners to become speakers or co-hosts by selecting the  icon and adding speakers or selecting a person’s profile picture within a Space and adding them as a co-host or speaker. Listeners can request to speak from the host.

Hosts can also invite other people outside of the Space to speak via DM.

Up to 2 people can become co-hosts and speak in a Space in addition to the 11 speakers (including the primary host) at one time. Co-host status can be lost if the co-host leaves the Space. A co-host can remove their own co-host status to become a Listener again.

Hosts can transfer primary admin rights to another co-host. If the original host drops from Space, the first co-host added will become the primary admin. The admin is responsible for promoting and facilitating a healthy conversation in the Space in line with the X Rules.

Once a co-host is added to a Space, any accounts they’ve blocked on X who are in the Space will be removed from the Space.

Hosts can schedule a Space up to 30 days in advance and up to 10 scheduled Spaces. Hosts can still create impromptu Spaces in the meantime, and those won’t count toward the maximum 10 scheduled Spaces.

Before you create your Space, select the scheduler  icon and pick the date and time you’d like to schedule your Space to go live. As your scheduled start time approaches, you will receive push and in-app notifications reminding you to start your Space on time. If you don’t have notifications turned on, follow the in-app steps on About notifications on mobile devices to enable them for Spaces. Scheduled Spaces are public and people can set reminders to be notified when your scheduled Space begins.

Guests can sign up for reminder notifications from a scheduled Space card in a post. When the host starts the scheduled Space, the interested guests get notified via push and in-app notifications.

Hosts can record Spaces they create for replay. When creating a Space, toggle on Record Space.

While recording, a recording symbol will appear at the top to indicate that the Space is being recorded by the host. Once the Space ends, you will see how many people attended the Space along with a link to share out via a post. Under Notifications, you can also View details to post the recording. Under host settings, you will have the option to choose where to start your recording with Edit start time. This allows you to cut out any dead air time that might occur at the beginning of a Space.

If you choose to record your Space, once the live Space ends, your recording will be immediately and publicly available for anyone to listen to whenever they want. You can always end a recording to make it no longer publicly available on X by deleting your recording via the more icon on the recording itself. Unless you delete your recording, it will remain available for replay after the live Space has ended.* As with live Spaces, X will retain audio copies for 30 after they end to review for violations of the X Rules. If a violation is found, X may retain audio copies for up to 120 days in total. For more information on downloading Spaces, please see below FAQ, "What happens after a Space ends and is the data retained anywhere?"

Co-hosts and speakers who enter a Space that is being recorded will see a recording symbol (REC). Listeners will also see the recording symbol, but they will not be visible in the recording.

Recordings will show the host, co-host(s), and speakers from the live Space. 

*Note: Hosts on iOS 9.15+ and Android 9.46+ will be able to record Spaces that last indefinitely. For hosts on older app versions, recording will only be available for 30 days. For Spaces that are recorded indefinitely, X will retain a copy for as long as the Space is replayable on X, but for no less than 30 days after the live Space ended.

Captions are not currently available for Spaces.

As a host, if you turn off clipping for all Spaces from the onset, no one will be able to clip your Spaces. If you choose to turn off clipping at any point thereafter, the feature will be unavailable moving forward. To delete clips of recorded Spaces made prior to turning off the feature, you will need to delete your Space entirely.

Anyone who creates a clip can delete the clip by deleting the associated post.

To delete a post with a clip, navigate to the more  icon and select Delete post. For more information, read How to delete a post. 

If you think a clip violates the X Rules, you can report it. On the post with the clip, go to the more  icon and select Report this post. Learn more about reporting a post.

You also have the option to block or mute the account that posted the clip. Navigate to the account's profile photo and from the more  icon, select the appropriate action.

See below FAQs for more information on the controls you have over your Space, blocking, and muting an account, and reporting an account or Space. 

The host and co-host(s) of a Space have control over who can speak. They can mute any Speaker, but it is up to the individual to unmute themselves if they receive speaking privileges. Hosts and co-hosts can also remove,  report, and block others in the Space.

Speakers and listeners can report and block others in the Space, or can report the Space. If you block a participant in the Space, you will also block that person’s account on X. If the person you blocked joins as a listener, they will appear in the participant list with a Blocked label under their account name. If the person you blocked joins as a speaker, they will also appear in the participant list with a Blocked label under their account name and you will see an in-app notification stating, “An account you blocked has joined as a speaker.” If you are entering a Space that already has a blocked account as a speaker, you will also see a warning before joining the Space stating, “You have blocked 1 person who is speaking.”

If you are hosting or co-hosting a Space, people you’ve blocked can’t join and, if you’re added as a co-host during a Space, anyone in the Space who you blocked will be removed from the Space. 

As a Host, you are responsible for promoting and supporting a healthy conversation in your Space and to use your tools to ensure that the X Rules are followed. The following tools are available for you to use if a participant in the Space is being offensive or disruptive:

• Revoke speaking privileges of other users if they are being offensive or disruptive to you or others

• Block, remove or report the user.

Here are some guidelines to follow as a Host or Co-Host:

• Always follow the X Rules in the Space you host or co-host. This also applies to the title of your Space which should not include abusive slurs, threats, or any other rule-violating content.

• Do not encourage behavior or content that violates the X Rules.

• Do not abuse or misuse your hosting tools, such as arbitrarily revoking speaking privileges or removing users, or use Spaces to carry out activities that break our rules such as following schemes.

While in a Space, select the account’s profile photo to pull up the option menu. Select Block. This action will also block the account on X. Blocking someone in a Space will not automatically remove them from the Space unless you are a host or co-host of the Space. 

To mute a speaker in a live Space, select the account’s profile photo, which will pull up an option menu. Select Mute their mic and you will receive an in-app notification that will let you know the individual has been muted. You also have the option to mute all speakers in your Space at once.

Hosts, speakers, and listeners can select the  icon to see people in a Space. Since Spaces are publicly accessible by anyone, it may also be possible for an unknown number of logged-out people to listen to a Space’s audio without being listed as a guest in the Space.

If you think a Space violates the X Rules, you can report it while in the Space by selecting the more  icon and selecting Report this Space. Anyone in the Space can report it. Speakers and listeners can report a Space and any account in a Space.

To report an account in a Space, select the account’s profile photo and then select Report. You will then need to choose the reason for reporting the account.

Hosts are expected to support a healthy conversation in the Space and to use their tools to ensure that the X Rules are followed. X will not suspend any active Space unless it violates our Rules.

For now, a maximum of 13 people (including the host and up to 2 co-hosts) can speak at the same time.

There is no limit on the number of listeners.

Hosts can choose to record a Space prior to starting it. Hosts may download copies of their recorded Spaces for as long as we have them by using the Your X Data download tool.

For unrecorded Spaces, X retains copies of audio from recorded Spaces for 30 days after a Space ends to review for violations of the X Rules. If a Space is found to contain a violation, we extend the time we maintain a copy for an additional 90 days (a total of 120 days after a Space ends) to allow people to appeal if they believe there was a mistake. X also uses Spaces content and data for analytics and research to improve the service.

Links to Spaces that are shared out (e.g., via post or DM) also contain some information about the Space, including the description, the identity of the hosts and others in the Space, as well as the Space’s current state (e.g., scheduled, live, or ended). We make this and other information about Spaces available through the X Developer Platform. For a detailed list of the information about Spaces we make available, check out our Spaces endpoints documentation. 

For full details on what data we retain, visit our Privacy Policy.

The host of a Space has the ability to end a Space. A Space may also end if it is found to be in violation of the X Rules.

Accounts with protected posts are not able to create Spaces. They are able to join and speak in other people’s Spaces, and their presence will be visible to other participants.

Hosts, co-hosts and participants must follow the X Rules in Spaces and Hosts should use their tools to ensure the Space is healthy.  Although we will not generally take action on live Spaces, if a Space is reported, we may take enforcement actions against the Host(s) or any participants, or remove the Space altogether.

Hosts who do not follow the X Rules themselves or who facilitate or promote discussions that are not in accordance with the Rules, may be banned from all X live features including Spaces and live video. This means that you will no longer be able to host or speak in a Space. Limitations may also be placed on the Space for rules violations by Hosts. For example, the Space may be ineligible for replay. Please note that this is not a suspension from the platform itself, and bans can be appealed.

Community Spaces allows creators to create Spaces to keep their members engaged and help new people discover and join their Community. 

Only some admins and moderators will be able to host a Space, using the X for iOS and X for Android apps. Community members cannot host or start a Space within a Community, but they can ask to be a speaker in the Space.

When an admin or moderator starts a Space, community members and their followers will be notified via their notifications tab as well as the Spacebar. 

Members will receive a notification in their notifications tab and also see the Spacebar populate with the live Space. Members will also be marked as a member of the Community while the Space is live.

Note: As we are currently testing with a small group, some members may not see a notification in their notifications tab. 

Yes. You will see the purple Spacebar populated at the top of your Home timeline if a person you follow is either hosting or in the live Space.