Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has criticized X's new feature that displays user country locations, calling the implementation risky after multiple crypto community members raised privacy concerns. The social platform rolled out the feature without providing opt-out options for users.
X Director of Product Nikita Bier announced the feature on Saturday, framing it as a method to ensure platform integrity and allow information verification. The system automatically reveals which country an account operates from on user profiles.
Initial Reactions and Shifting Perspectives
Buterin initially suggested the change could offer benefits like increased visibility into how different communities view various issues. He later reversed his position after considering feedback from concerned users about potential security risks.
The Ethereum founder stated that revealing country information non-consensually without opt-out options was wrong. He noted that while country disclosure leaves large anonymity sets in most cases, some individuals face risks from even small information leakage.
Concerns from the Crypto Community
Uniswap founder Hayden Adams strongly opposed the mandatory feature, describing it as a form of required doxing. He stated that opt-in doxing remains acceptable, but mandatory disclosure crosses ethical boundaries.
Andrei David, chief technology officer at decentralized finance platform Summer.fi, raised concerns about forcing visibility without notice. He argued that privacy-sensitive features should default to the least revealing settings rather than maximum disclosure.
Multiple crypto users warned that bad actors could exploit the location data to track high-worth investors for physical attacks. The concerns highlight heightened security risks facing cryptocurrency holders compared to traditional investors.
Addressing Privacy Concerns and Potential Benefits
X user Langerius, a lead at Web3 community group Hunters of Web3, shared instructions on how to disable the feature. Users can turn off country visibility or switch from country to region display through privacy and safety settings.
Bier noted that a privacy toggle exists to show only regional information for users in countries where speech carries penalties. Some community members argued that the feature helps prevent overseas accounts from interfering in domestic politics by masquerading as local users.
Crypto venture capitalist Nic Carter supported this view, stating the feature serves necessary functions despite privacy concerns raised by others in the digital asset community.