Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has raised serious concerns about X’s new location-tagging feature, cautioning that sophisticated actors could easily manipulate the system while exposing legitimate users to privacy risks.
Privacy concerns overshadow security goals
The feature, which rolled out globally on November 22, displays the country or region associated with each account. It appears in the “About This Account” section, accessible by tapping the signup date on user profiles.
Buterin’s critique focuses on the feature’s vulnerability to spoofing.
He predicted that within six months, foreign political troll accounts could appear as though they operate from the United States or the United Kingdom.
“While obtaining fake locations for a million accounts might prove moderately difficult, creating a single account with a fraudulent location and growing it to a million followers would be straightforward,”
The feature immediately sparked backlash from the crypto community. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams described it as “psychotic,” emphasizing the difference between voluntary and mandatory disclosure. “Opt-in doxxing is fine, mandatory doxxing is psychotic,” he said.
“There are some people for whom even a few bits of leakage are risky, and they should not have their privacy retroactively rugpulled with no recourse,” he wrote.
While X product director Nikita Bier announced privacy toggles for users in countries with speech-related penalties, critics argue these measures do not address broader privacy concerns.
Observers note the tension with Elon Musk’s 2022 commitment to protect user anonymity, especially for those who could face persecution or physical harm.
Industry experts weigh long-term implications
Finance professor Maxim Mironov suggested the feature could function like a spam-prevention mechanism, raising the cost of faking location to reduce bot activity. But Buterin countered that manual verification for individual accounts negates the benefit at scale, providing protection only for high-profile accounts.
Crypto analyst Nic Carter framed the location disclosure as a response to widespread abuse enabled by unrestricted access to Western communication infrastructure.
“Why should we continue to grant scammers direct access to our phones, inboxes, and DMs?”
He wrote, likening the approach to China’s restrictions on foreign participation in domestic platforms.
Users have also highlighted practical risks. Web3 attorney Langerius advised disabling country visibility or switching to region-level display, while developer Mayowa warned that the feature could lead to discrimination against certain users.
“Innocent users will be abused or thrown under the bus simply because of where they’re chatting from,”
Tech investor Jason Calacanis added a lighter observation, joking, “Long VPN stocks,” as users increasingly turn to virtual private networks to mask their true locations.
X maintains that the feature is part of its effort to secure the “global town square,” with Bier promising that additional authenticity verification tools are in development.
Anastasiia G
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