Although Elon Musk promised that he would eliminate X (formerly Twitter) bots when he acquired the company, any user of the platform will know that this has not been the case. After numerous changes to the algorithm and usage policies, bots are still on the platform and there are days when it seems like there are more of them than before.
It has been a difficult problem to control, but it looks like a new measure against it will soon come into force. The problem? Which will be at the expense of your privacy, because X (Twitter) will display the country of users on its platform.
X is testing a feature that could reveal your approximate location
We’ve been talking about this for a few days X will start showing the country where users are posting from. The origin of this information is not any, because it comes from Nikita Bier, product manager of the platformtherefore it is a very high level source. Nikita Bier, product manager of the platform says the following:
“Reading the content on We’re experimenting with displaying new information on profiles, including the country where the account is locatedamong other details. Starting next week, we’ll post it on some Team X members’ profiles for feedback.
At the time of writing this article the function has not yet been implemented, in some profiles only test balloons have been launched, but has given rise to some hoaxes.
The most widespread hoaxes say so The country flag emoji will appear right next to the user’s name (when the check marks appear). Additionally, the location can be seen in all publications, so it would be visible from the timeline. However, nothing could be further from the truth.
Information about the origin of the account’s posts They will only be visible in the “About this account” section. of profiles. It will appear as “Account located in” along with other data such as the date you signed up for X or the times you changed users.
Come on, what You’ll have to go looking for that information if you really want to know it.it may not be at first glance, but this topic offers more.
The X measurement on account location display divides users
Although it is not yet a measure adopted for everyone, the publication of Bier was the first kick that started the madness that would be unleashed in a part of X, because there are users who are against it and others who are in favor (or who don’t give it much importance).
Opponents point out that revealing the country from which someone posts represents a clear violation of the user’s privacy. It’s a completely valid reason, since Privacy is important on the Internet and many countries, institutions and people struggle to keep it intact, without half measures.
In the meantime, There are those who believe that this does not change the current panorama much. First of all because by reading a user’s posts you can get closer to their country of origin (if they are a real user); second, because it is not information that will be at first glance; third, because X already allows you to enter your location in your profile (even if it is optional); and fourth, why It is a measure that will help identify bots.
Now, Is the latter true? Y How is the third argument option different from these new media?
Identifying the country of publication of an account is a measure aimed at combating bots on X, but does it make sense?
Although there is no official publication or any high-ranking official ask Grok Regarding this new privacy measure, he responded as follows:
“The new X feature shows the approximate location (country) you are posting from, based on your connection data, for greater transparency and bot combatS. It is gradually implemented in profiles. You can check this in your privacy settings, but it cannot be changed manually. If you don’t want to share it, consider VPN or location settings.”
This makes it clear that within X they have a clear intention to implement this functionality: fight bots, allowing users to identify them more easilyBut does it make sense?
Right from the start, yes, because it makes it easier to identify accounts posing as real people to generate opinion matrices or position trends within the platform. And once identified, a user can choose to report them, block them, or mute them.
However, It’s a less than ideal solution, Why? Grok herself tells you: you can use a VPN or some other service that helps you change your location on the Internet. If you as a real user can do it, Who will stop bot farm owners from doing this? There are many options for this, from browsers that already include the VPN, to standalone VPN clients, tunneling, TOR, and more.
Come on, what It really won’t do much good.because a bot created in Pakistan could very well use a VPN to make it appear as if it is posting from the United States. So eventually this measure will become null.
When will X start showing your account’s posting location?
As we have indicated above, at the time of writing this article This new feature was in the testing phase. It only reached a limited number of users and was temporary, so you may have it available today and not tomorrow.
Indeed, There is no release date for all usersnot even an official announcement for the entire community. Also, this feature may never be implementedespecially considering the mixed reception it’s receiving, but only time will tell.
