Social network X should start showing in user profiles if someone is using a VPN to hide their location.
Based on an October post about transparency on the platform by the company’s head of product, Nikita Bier, and follow-ups from others showing how the new information would be displayed, there are concerns that people using X could be reported for using the technology.
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It’s unclear whether displaying whether someone is using a VPN is already being tested as part of an “About Your Account” feature that X plans to roll out. A VPN, or virtual private network, establishes an encrypted connection between you and a remote server. Using a VPN makes it more difficult – but not impossible – to determine a person’s location.
Some of the other information displayed about your account includes when an account was created X, how many times the username has changed, and how the account uses
This could pose a major problem for those who use VPNs to hide their online identities for security reasons, including stalking, government persecution in some countries, or to avoid harassment or intimidation.
A representative for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
So far, the reaction from some in the VPN industry has been concerning, but tempered by not knowing exactly how the feature will be implemented in its final form.
On the TechRadar website, representatives from VPN companies including Surfshark and NordVPN expressed concern that exposing VPN users could put people with legitimate privacy concerns at risk.
“So putting a visible flag on them can make it easier to distinguish journalists, activists or users from high-risk countries as being ‘suspicious’ simply because they care about privacy,” Marijus Briedis, CTO of NordVPN, told the site.
