X is developing capabilities that will let administrators mark areas as having “adult content” in “Communities,” the platform’s tool for subreddit-like communities. An X engineer verified the modification in the midst of rumors that the Elon Musk-owned business was attempting to make NSFW groups available.
Engineer Dong Wook Chung announced on X that the app’s Communities function will “soon” automatically filter out offensive content. “Admins can now set ‘Adult content’ in Settings to prevent content from being automatically filtered,” according to Chung.
As Bloomberg reported, researchers had previously spotted clues that X planned to enable settings for “adult-sensitive” content. X permits users to share nudity and other “graphic” content, but doesn’t allow it to appear in certain parts of the app, like profile photos and cover images for Communities.
X’s Communities feature predates Musk’s takeover of the company. Twitter began experimenting with the idea in 2021, saying it would provide “a more intimate space for conversations” on the platform. Though Twitter never publicly discussed enabling NSFW features for Communities, the app allowed adult content, unlike most of its social media peers. The company reportedly looked into creating an OnlyFans competitor with its creator subscription product in 2022. The plan was eventually scrapped, according to the Platformer newsletter, due to concerns it would “worsen” the company’s problems with illegal child exploitation content.
It’s not clear if X’s current leadership has addressed those concerns. In a separate post, Chung, the X engineer, stated that the new filtering settings “is about making Communities safer for everyone by automatically filtering out” adult content. “Only users who have specified their age will be able to search Communities with NSFW content.”
