Late Friday night, Elon Musk’s social media platform X briefly unveiled a controversial new feature that exposed users’ country of origin through their profile pages. The feature went beyond traditional location settings, revealing a user’s precise location based on their IP address instead of self-reported information.

Users could click on an account’s join date to access an “About this account” page that displayed the exact nation from which an account was posting. The rollout was met with mixed reactions, with many seeing potential benefits in identifying potential sources of misinformation.

However, the feature vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, acknowledged technical issues causing location inaccuracies. Some users reported incorrect country designations, with one user’s profile showing a U.S. location despite being in Canada.

Bier attributed some discrepancies to Starlink and explained that VPN usage during account registration could skew location data. The team plans to reintroduce the feature with improved accuracy, potentially adding indicators to clarify location complexities.

The brief appearance of this feature highlights ongoing challenges in digital identity verification. While many users welcomed the potential to discourage foreign actors from spreading propaganda, the technical limitations exposed fundamental challenges in accurately representing user location.

As social media platforms continue to grapple with transparency and authenticity, features like these underscore the delicate balance between user privacy and platform accountability. X’s experimental approach suggests an ongoing commitment to evolving user experience, even if that means occasional public beta tests.

The platform remains tight-lipped about the exact timeline for reintroducing the country of origin feature, leaving users curious about what might come next in Musk’s ever-changing social media landscape.