X's New Feature: Publication Country Truly Revealed..Goodbye privacy, everyone will know your country

Despite Elon Musk's explicit commitment to eradicating automated bot accounts on the "X" platform (formerly Twitter) immediately following his acquisition, any active user recognizes that this promise has not been fully realized. Even with frequent algorithm updates and revised usage policies, bots continue to proliferate, and sometimes their spread seems more evident than ever before.

The issue of bots has always presented a persistent challenge for the platform. However, it appears a crucial new measure might be on the verge of implementation to combat them. Yet, the potential cost of this measure raises serious questions: will it come at the expense of user privacy levels? This question arises amid X's testing of a new feature that could reveal the approximate location from which users are posting.

• ✨ The X platform is testing a new feature aimed at displaying users' approximate location to enhance content credibility.
• ✨ The Head of Product, Nikkita Bharadwaj, confirmed that the primary goal is to enable readers to verify the source of globally published information.
• ✨ The geographic location will not be prominently displayed in the timeline; instead, it will be listed within the "About this account" section.
• ✨ The feature is still in the initial testing phase and will begin trials on a limited number of X employees to gather preliminary feedback.
• You can find the feature currently available on X in the browser.

In the last few days, reports circulated that the X platform might start showing the country from which users post their content. This significant leak came directly from a highly reliable source: Nikkita Bharadwaj, the Head of Product at the platform. According to Ms. Bharadwaj's statements, the logic behind this move is centered on enhancing credibility, as she stated:

"When reading content on X, you should be able to verify its authenticity. This is critical for staying informed about important issues happening around the world. In this context, we are currently experimenting with displaying new information on profiles, including the country where the account is based, among other details. Starting next week, we will publish this information for some X team members to get their feedback."

At the time of writing this article, this feature has not been comprehensively activated, as it was limited to the testing phase on a small number of accounts, leading to conflicting circulating rumors.

Clarification on Where the Geographic Account Information Will Be Displayed

The most widespread rumors, which seem far from the truth, suggested that a country flag icon would appear next to the username (similar to the blue verification badges). Some speculation also indicated that the geographic location would be immediately visible on all posts within the Timeline, facilitating instant content evaluation.

However, the reality, based on available information, is that the source information for account posts will not be so easily accessible. This data will be limited to appearing only within the "About this account" section on profile pages. It will be listed under the heading "Account Location," alongside other details such as the join date on X Platform or how many times the username has been changed. In summary, knowing this location will require extra effort to look up and will not be automatically obvious to the casual viewer.

As mentioned earlier, this new feature was under internal testing when the material was prepared, meaning it was available only to a limited and temporary number of users, and its availability might change from day to day. This direction represents an important step in the platform's endeavor to promote transparency and combat misinformation, despite concerns related to user privacy and linking them to specific geographic locations.

What is the primary objective of testing the account location display feature?

The primary objective announced by the platform management is to enhance users' ability to verify the authenticity of circulating content, especially concerning breaking global events, to distinguish genuine voices from misleading entities or bots that might operate from unknown locations.

Will the exact user location be displayed instead of just the country?

The statements indicate that the feature will display the "country where the account is based," implying it will be limited to the country level or approximate location, not the precise geographical location (such as a specific street address or city), in order to avoid revealing excessive personal details.

When can users expect to see this feature on their profiles?

The feature is currently undergoing internal experimental testing exclusively on the X team members, and no date has yet been set for its public or official trial launch. It is expected to roll out gradually based on the feedback collected from the testing team.

Where will the publication country information be placed within the profile?

According to the details available, this piece of information will be placed within the "About this account" section of the profile, alongside other identifying data, and will not be immediately visible on the main feed interface.

⚓✨️ This development marks a significant shift in information management on the X Platform, as the company balances its urgent need to combat misinformation and enhance credibility against its commitment to protecting the privacy data of its users. The success of this feature in achieving its stated goal without sparking widespread privacy crises will determine the future landscape of transparency across major social media platforms.