Regular folks use virtual private networks (VPNs) to keep themselves safe from online data thieves, hackers, snoops, and crooks. Those who live, work, or travel in countries with oppressive human rights rely upon them not to get thrown in jail (or worse). Journalists and activists, likewise, depend on VPNs to keep them safe from the prying eyes of those who’d harm them.
Now it looks like people who use VPN to connect to X will get warning text shown on their profiles. It was hinted at by X last month, but we’re starting to see more evidence that it’s actually set to happen.
what it’ll look like
“When you read content on X, you should be able to verify its authenticity. This is critical to getting a pulse on important issues happening in the world,” posted Nikita Bier, Head of Product at X, back on October 14, 2025.
“As part of that, we’re experimenting with displaying new information on profiles, including which country an account is based, among other details. Starting next week, we will surface this on a handful of profiles of X team members to get feedback.”
Online security advocates immediately criticized the news, saying that it was a thinly veiled move to out those who use VPNs, which protect online anonymity by routing internet traffic through a third-party server as a middleman. VPNs are widely available to private citizens in most countries in the world, including the US, where X is based.
“Can users choose to opt out? (It) has potential privacy implications,” asked a user, to which Bier replied, “There will be privacy toggles. However, if a user configures them, that will likely be highlighted on their profile. More to come.”
Well, we got more details, and it sure looks like X is outing those who use VPNs. “X will show a warning on your account if you try to use a VPN to hide where your account is from when the upcoming ‘About Your Account’ feature launches,” Aaron Perris, an analyst over at MacRumors, posted on X.com on November 15, 2025.
The post accompanied a chunk of (ostensibly X.com’s) code showing the text it’ll display on your X profile to other X users: “‘One of our partners has indicated that you may be connecting via a proxy—such as a VPN—which may change the country or region that is displayed on your profile.’ Your profile will display ‘Country or region may not be accurate’ to other users.”
It’s a shitty move on X’s part. If X really wanted to keep its users safe, it would do something about the severity, depth, and breadth of misinformation that it allows on its platform. But hey, they can monetize that, so I wouldn’t hold my breath.