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Xbox Is Experimenting with a Controversial Social Media Feature

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Xbox Is Experimenting with a Controversial Social Media Feature

Do you like it when software utilizes subtle forms of psychological manipulation to keep you coming back? If so, you will be thrilled to hear that Xbox is experimenting with a new streak feature that will highlight how many weeks in a row you’ve actively used your console. As spotted by journalist Stephen Totilo, Xbox Insider users have seen this functionality within the Xbox dashboard and profile menu.

Totilo shared an image of his Xbox profile showing a UI indicator with a checkmark for each day he signed on this past week and an empty circle for the days he didn’t (or that haven’t happened yet). Playing Xbox at least three days in a week starts or continues a streak. Those with a streak have a flame symbol next to this UI element, along with a number showing how many weeks in a row they’ve maintained it.

Beyond the profile menu, the streak appears more prominently in the top-left corner of the Xbox dashboard, with an indicator of how many consecutive weeks you’ve kept your streak going and how close you are to continuing it this week.

Streak systems are common across tech platforms because they incentivize users to keep coming back through gamification — thanks to something deep in our lizard brains, it’s satisfying to watch numbers go up (in this case, a streak indicator). Streak features have been used by Snapchat, Wordle, and many others, and while relatively innocuous when used for health apps or learning tools like Duolingo, they come across as far more manipulative in other contexts.


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