X Publicly Flag Accounts Using VPNs
Adshine.pro11/18/20256 viewsA coming update on X could shine an uncomfortable spotlight on the platform’s many troll accounts that routinely weigh in on foreign political debates.
X has revealed that it will soon introduce new transparency data on user profiles, including the account’s creation date, the owner’s location, and a history of any username changes.

Users will be able to tap through a profile to view these details, which could make it far easier to identify bots or coordinated influence accounts crafted to provoke, mislead, or magnify polarizing content across the platform.
X says these profile updates will begin rolling out in the near future. The company is also working on another potentially significant data point: a signal showing whether an account is using a VPN to mask its real location.
All of this information will be consolidated in a new “About this profile” section. It won’t appear directly in the feed or at the surface level of profiles, but it gives users an additional layer of context—helping them understand who is speaking, where they’re posting from, and why they might be so invested in the politics of another country.
And that context matters. Foreign influence operations have long targeted major social platforms, leveraging them to spread propaganda, deepen divisions, or undermine public trust in democratic institutions.
Microsoft has repeatedly traced large-scale influence campaigns from China aimed at U.S. platforms. This year alone, Google has removed more than 10,000 YouTube channels linked to coordinated operations run by Chinese state actors, as well as hundreds tied to Russian groups.
With X relaxing many of its content moderation barriers in the name of free expression, researchers say the platform has become even more attractive for such manipulation—making these new transparency tools potentially valuable in limiting their reach.
Of course, their usefulness depends on whether people actually use them. If X successfully raises awareness of these features, it could blunt the impact of foreign operatives: there will always be at least one user in the replies pointing out an account’s true location—or the fact that it’s hidden behind a VPN—which could instantly weaken the credibility of that commentary.
But that awareness must spread organically. It will depend on users consistently treating this metadata as a red flag worth mentioning.
Still, the shift is a welcome move toward transparency and gives X users far more context about what they’re seeing—and who is behind it.
The new “About this profile” section is expected to arrive in the app soon.
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