Key Highlights
- X’s new feature shows an account’s country, sparking strong reactions across tech and crypto communities.
- Vitalik Buterin warned the feature can be easily tricked by actors faking locations with rented IDs or IP addresses.
- Crypto leaders like Hayden Adams raised privacy concerns, calling the update a form of “mandatory doxing.”
A new X feature that shows the country an account is based in is drawing strong reactions across the tech and crypto world, including from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
The update, announced by X product head Nikita Bier, lets users view an account’s country or region by tapping its signup date. Bier described the “About This Account” feature as a step toward improving transparency and said privacy toggles are available for users in places where speaking openly can carry risks.
He added that some issues will be fixed soon and that location data will refresh periodically on a delayed, randomized schedule to help protect users.
Rising concerns from Vitalik
Concerns surfaced quickly. On X, Vitalik Buterin said the feature may offer short-term value but warned that sophisticated actors can still disguise their location using rented passports, phone numbers, or IP addresses.
He predicted, “In six months, the actually-[random Eurasian country]-based political troll accounts with names like ‘Defend Western Civilization’ or whatever will all have ‘USA’ or ‘UK’ as their location tags.”
Vitalik added that while generating thousands of fake-location accounts is harder, creating one convincing persona and growing it to a large audience would remain “easy.”
After thinking it over, Buterin said, revealing someone’s country without consent is “wrong,” especially for users who may face serious risks from even small leaks of personal information. He stressed that people should not have their privacy “retroactively rugpulled” with no way to opt out.
Other crypto figures echoed the concerns. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams called the change “mandatory doxing,” saying users should never be forced to reveal where they live.
Even Andrei David, CTO of DeFi platform Summer.fi, said the issue isn’t showing a country, but forcing everyone to be visible without notice. Privacy features should start with the least revealing option.
Why are people divided?
X has said there are partial privacy controls. Users can turn off country visibility entirely or switch to a broader region, a setting intended for people in sensitive environments.
The public reaction to the new location feature has been mixed and mostly critical. Some users questioned the need for showing account countries, saying it could increase risks and even encourage targeting of high-value individuals.
Security expert Beau noted, “Would recommend only including the sign up country. If folks are traveling it will ‘dox’ that they aren’t at home and could encourage crime toward HNW individuals.”
Other users criticized the feature as unnecessary, with one saying it could fuel racism and another claiming, “We (your users) have made it clear that this isn’t something we want or need..
However, X users argued that a country label in large nations does not meaningfully identify individuals, and others believe it could help expose coordinated influence campaigns by making it harder for foreign accounts to pose as locals.
The mixed reactions show how hard it is for social platforms to increase transparency without putting users’ safety or privacy at risk.
Also Read: Vitalik Warns Ethereum Is at Risk If BlackRock Dominates ETH ETF Market
