Elon Musk’s X platform is preparing a new transparency update that shows more about who’s behind each account. The move comes as social media struggles with AI bots that can mimic human behavior more convincingly than ever.
What the Change Means
According to X’s head of product, Nikita Bier[1], the company plans to test a feature that adds new data to user profiles. It could include when the account was created, the country or region it’s linked to, how often its username has changed, and how the account uses the app.
The idea is simple. By showing more of an account’s background, X wants users to decide for themselves if they’re looking at a real person or a potential bot. Someone claiming to live in New York but showing activity from another country might raise questions. The same goes for profiles with repeated name changes or sudden creation dates that line up with political events or trending topics.
Early Testing and Privacy Controls
X will start the experiment on internal employee profiles next week. This allows the company to see how the changes look in use before releasing them to everyone else.
Users will be able to turn off parts of the new visibility feature, but that choice might appear publicly on their profiles. Bier has said the team is considering privacy protections for users in countries where free expression carries risk. In those cases, X might show a general region instead of a specific location.
Borrowing an Idea from Instagram
Instagram already lets people check basic account details under “About This Profile.” It shows how long an account has existed, where it’s registered, and how many times its username has changed. That context helps people judge whether a profile looks real.
X seems to be following a similar direction, aiming to help users build trust through background information rather than just posts and followers. The company hasn’t said how quickly this new profile view will expand, but it appears to be part of a larger effort to address authenticity concerns.
The Bigger Picture
This update follows a recent cleanup on X that removed around 1.7 million spam and reply bots. The company has been under pressure to deal with fake accounts that distort online conversations.
Adding more details to profiles could make it easier to spot suspicious behavior, though experts note that bots often adapt quickly to new rules. Transparency helps, but it won’t solve every problem tied to misinformation or manipulation.
For now, X’s plan looks like another step toward rebuilding credibility after years of debate over trust and identity online. It also signals how social media companies are rethinking the balance between privacy and accountability.
If the test goes smoothly, users may soon see more background data when checking who they’re interacting with. That extra layer of context could make digital conversations a little more reliable in a world where it’s getting harder to tell who’s real.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools.
Read next: Mark Cuban Leads Critics Warning OpenAI’s Erotica Plan Risks a Moral Collapse[2]
References
- ^ Nikita Bier (x.com)
- ^ Mark Cuban Leads Critics Warning OpenAI’s Erotica Plan Risks a Moral Collapse (www.digitalinformationworld.com)