X’s new location disclosure policy: What does it mean for safety?

X, the societal media level formerly known arsenic Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, has launched a caller “transparency feature” which provides a greater level of accusation astir accounts, including the locations of the users down them.

X says the determination volition supply greater transparency and code concerns astir “bots” that dispersed misinformation by enabling users to place wherever they are based.

But it has raised concerns astir information and privateness for users worldwide.

Here is simply a person look astatine what is happening.

What is happening astatine X?

Nikita Bier, caput of merchandise astatine the societal media platform, announced the caller feature, which volition beryllium rolled retired globally, successful a station connected the level connected November 22.

“In a mates hours, we’ll beryllium rolling retired About This Account globally, allowing you to spot the state oregon portion wherever an relationship is based. This volition beryllium accessible by tapping the signup day connected profiles,” Bier wrote.

In a mates hours, we'll beryllium rolling retired About This Account globally, allowing you to spot the state oregon portion wherever an relationship is based. This volition beryllium accessible by tapping the signup day connected profiles.

This is an important archetypal measurement to securing the integrity of the planetary town… pic.twitter.com/5d7cX21qGj

— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) November 22, 2025

X relationship profiles see a clickable “About This Account” page, which is accessible from the idiosyncratic menu. Until now, this leafage has displayed lone the instauration day of the relationship publicly.

Now, it besides shows details specified arsenic the state the relationship holder is based in, the day the relationship was created, the fig of times the username has been changed – and erstwhile – and the state of root astatine the clip of creation. It besides indicates whether the app has been installed connected an Android instrumentality oregon via the iOS App Store and successful which country.

If the relationship is verified, it besides displays the day it was verified. For immoderate verified profiles, institution affiliation besides shows, specified arsenic X for Musk oregon the United States State Department for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

X said this is indispensable to guarantee contented posted connected the level is “authentic” and transparent.

“This is an important archetypal measurement to securing the integrity of the planetary municipality square. We program to supply galore much ways for users to verify the authenticity of the contented they spot connected X,” Bier said.

Can users opt retired of this?

On the whole, no. On Tuesday, the level did not look to supply an enactment to fell this accusation from different users. For backstage accounts, which users indispensable petition support from the relationship holder to follow, the caller accusation is lone accessible to users who person been approved to travel them.

Bier added that for users who are located successful countries with restrictions connected escaped speech, “we’ve included privateness toggles to lone amusement your region”. He did not specify which countries helium was referring to oregon wherefore this diagnostic was being offered to users there.

Could this compromise users’ safety?

Mark Owen Jones, an subordinate prof of media analytics astatine Northwestern University successful Qatar, told Al Jazeera that the caller diagnostic could alteration radical oregon agencies to cross-check the determination of an anonymous relationship with information from different accounts, perchance allowing atrocious actors to place oregon constrictive down the determination of idiosyncratic requiring privateness due to the fact that of information concerns.

It could besides provoke attacks connected radical who are wrongly accused of falsifying their locations, helium added.

“For example, saying that a writer has been lying astir their determination successful Poland, could pb to attacks connected that idiosyncratic online, possibly successful person, accusations of fraud that mightiness person knock-on consequences connected their idiosyncratic and nonrecreational life,” Jones said.

“In that case, it risks causing harm to a idiosyncratic successful presumption of, you know, their wellbeing and their estimation and different forms of harassment.”

Who could beryllium severely affected by this?

Palestinians successful Gaza are 1 radical who could beryllium peculiarly susceptible to these sorts of claims, Jones said, due to the fact that it is precise hard to verify who is telling the information and who is not.

Since the diagnostic was rolled out, immoderate X users person claimed that accounts purporting to beryllium of Palestinians successful Gaza are successful information based successful different countries. For instance, an relationship called @yasminemuhamsd, which was created past month, appears to beryllium to a Palestinian parent successful Gaza, but the relationship is based successful India, according to the About This Account page.

Another verified page, @sam_uel_best appears to beryllium of a pistillate named Sarah Ali, whose bio reads “a Gazan woman, inactive resilient”. The relationship reposts links to antithetic fundraisers, not conscionable for Gaza, but besides for section causes successful the US. Most of these links are inactive. The About This Account leafage says that this relationship is based successful Nigeria.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has responded to these claims successful X post, stating: “New X diagnostic ripped disguise disconnected countless fake ‘Gazan’ accounts. Some chap posting from Pakistan, different successful London. Another manipulative abuser determination else. All claiming to beryllium suffering successful Gaza portion successful the comfortableness of immoderate java store acold away.”

However, galore radical usage VPN [virtual backstage network] services, which disguise their IP addresses and fell their locations erstwhile they are browsing the internet. This tin besides spoof the determination online and amusement it to beryllium antithetic from the existent determination of the user.

Jones said that the diagnostic is, therefore, of constricted worth due to the fact that it lone provides determination accusation without confirming its accuracy.

“Of course, we cognize determination are radical scamming and pretending to beryllium Palestinians to get money,” Jones said. However, helium said, the instauration of these sorts of accounts is conscionable arsenic apt to beryllium a ploy to discredit genuine X users successful Gaza.

“What if you created a clump of accounts that were fake and evidently scammy and past made it look similar they’re successful Gaza and past they usage that to accidental that Palestinians are scamming. You could easy technologist that situation, and I’m definite there’s immoderate radical doing that. If your occupation is to fundamentally marque Palestinians look atrocious and you don’t person immoderate scruples, that’s precisely what you’d do.”

Jones said that pro-Israeli accounts person agelong been undermining the credibility of Palestinian contented connected societal media via conspiracy theories, specified arsenic 1 astir what they word “Paliwood”.

Using presumption similar “Paliwood” oregon “Gazawood”, pro-Israeli users assertion that videos of atrocities successful Gaza person been staged and are fake.

Jones said that if pro-Israeli accounts tin assertion that Palestinian influencers and journalists are besides lying astir their location, “it’s different portion of ‘evidence’ saying that they are conscionable misleading the public”.

“This is the astir unsafe facet [of] these reputational attacks connected Palestinians which volition substance into legitimising further the Israeli concern and genocide.”

Will this diagnostic truly assistance to basal retired existent ‘bots’?

It’s debatable.

Since the diagnostic was introduced connected November 22, respective Donald Trump supporters’ accounts, specified arsenic those called @MAGANationX and @MAGAStormX, person been shown to beryllium based successful Eastern Europe, according to their About This Account pages.

Similar pages look to beryllium based successful Thailand and Bangladesh, reigniting concerns among users astir the suspected precocious fig of “bots” successful overseas countries that are spreading governmental and election-related misinformation astir the US connected the platform.

However, due to the fact that of the wide usage of VPNs, which disguise users’ existent locations, radical cannot corroborate the accusation they see, Jones said. As a result, X is efficaciously passing the work for detecting fraud, spam bots oregon state-backed accusation operations connected to users.

“All it is doing is providing determination accusation without really giving radical the quality to find if that determination information is accurate. What’s the constituent of rolling retired a diagnostic erstwhile you besides rotation retired a qualifier saying, well, the accuracy of this accusation cannot beryllium trusted?

“It should beryllium connected the companies to halt radical [from] abusing the level and having accounts alternatively than crowdsourcing the policing of accounts. Again, it’s conscionable companies being lazy, not doing owed diligence connected their broadside and past passing that work onto the consumer.”

Can ‘About this Account’ pages beryllium doctored?

Images and surface grabs of them can.

Some X users person already started sharing doctored images and videos purporting to amusement the “About This Account” pages of different users. One post connected X, for example, accused the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) relationship of being based successful Israel.

Bier stepped successful to refute this, saying “the DHS has lone shown IPs from the United States since relationship creation”.

When Al Jazeera checked connected Tuesday, the determination for the department’s relationship showed arsenic the US.

On November 23, the section posted connected its X account: “I can’t judge we person to accidental this, but this relationship has lone ever been tally and operated from the United States. Screenshots are casual to forge, videos are casual to manipulate. Thank you for your attraction to this matter.”

I can’t judge we person to accidental this, but this relationship has lone ever been tally and operated from the United States. Screenshots are casual to forge, videos are casual to manipulate. Thank you for your attraction to this matter. https://t.co/Alc4VITHbm

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) November 23, 2025

 Could accusation connected the ‘About This Account’ leafage beryllium wrong?

The diagnostic is precise caller connected X and Bier acknowledged that his squad is ironing retired a fewer “rough edges” which would beryllium resolved by Tuesday this week.

“If immoderate information is incorrect, it volition beryllium updated periodically based connected best-available information. This happens connected a delayed and randomised docket to sphere privacy,” helium added, without giving further details.