X has rolled out a new feature that’s got everyone talking. Turns out, a lot of accounts aren’t really who they say they are

X has rolled out a few new features recently, including encrypted DMs, 4K video uploads, and an update to the recommendation algorithm. But the change people have been talking about most over the past few days is the new addition to the “About This Account” section, which now shows the country or region an account is based in.

X adds account location

If you check the joined date on X profiles now, you’ll see more than just when the account was created – it also shows how many times the username has been changed, how the account is connected, and the country or region the account is based in. This feature is meant to help people figure out whether an account is legit or possibly a bot. By showing “Account based in,” it makes it easier to spot when an account isn’t actually coming from the place it claims in its bio or where you might assume it’s located. There are already plenty of posts pointing to users whose location doesn’t match what’s in their bio.

However, for companies, social media could be managed by someone in a different country, so this feature mainly applies to personal X accounts.

But the new feature isn’t perfect. Not everyone loves the idea of their country being shown, even though there is a privacy toggle. By default, X shows your country, but you can switch it to a broader region or continent. You can find this option in Settings under Privacy and safety, in the “About your account” section.

If you tap the info icon next to someone’s listed country or region, X explains that the location can be affected by recent travel or temporary moves, so it might not always be accurate and can change over time.

There’s also another message you might see: if someone is using a VPN, X will flag that the location could be inaccurate. It also notes that some internet providers route traffic through proxies automatically, so it might look like a user is masking their location even when they aren’t.

• social media