Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), has activated a controversial new feature displaying users’ country of residence directly on their profiles. The rollout was initially unstable, with the feature being briefly disabled and re-enabled due to inaccuracies.
Concerns Over Privacy
The primary concern is user safety. While some individuals are using the feature for informal “detective work” to identify account origins, others fear potential stalking or harassment now that real-time location (by country) is publicly visible. This raises questions about the platform’s commitment to user privacy, as the feature effectively broadcasts where a user is at any given moment.
How to Reduce Location Precision
X provides an option to make the location data less precise. Users can adjust settings under Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > About your account to display a broader region or continent instead of a specific country.
This is the simplest method to reduce tracking.
VPN Workarounds
Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can obscure your actual location. However, X might still display a random location if the VPN’s exit node is detectable. This could lead to confusion if you’re seen as being in a different country than your actual location, such as explaining an unexpected “trip” to Bali when you should be working from Boston.
Context and Implications
The rollout of this feature comes amid broader trends of social media platforms pushing for increased transparency, but at the expense of user privacy. The debate highlights the tension between open data and personal security. The feature’s initial instability suggests X may have underestimated the technical challenges of accurate geolocation.
Ultimately, the new location feature forces users to weigh the benefits of transparency against the risks of exposure. It’s a clear example of how tech companies can quickly shift the balance of power in favor of data collection, leaving users to adapt or opt out.
