X confirms NSFW Communities are on the way

This might feel like a shrug-worthy move to some, but many saw this one coming. Bloomberg reported that researchers had already uncovered hints towards X enabling “adult-sensitive” content settings some time ago. Remember, X has historically allowed a bit more risky content than other social media apps. Profile pics and Community banners, though… that’s where it draws the line.

X “Communities” themselves aren’t even a Musk invention. Twitter started playing with the concept back in 2021, promising a whole new level of cozy conversation. What Twitter never promised was whether that coziness would get, well, adult-themed. And as Engadget points out, let’s not forget that for a hot minute in 2022, the company was reportedly flirting with the idea of launching an OnlyFans rival. Talk about a change of direction! Those plans were reportedly scrapped due to the looming risk that it would make X’s existing problems with illegal child exploitation material infinitely worse.

To clarify further, Chung did post another statement on the matter, saying “this setting is about making Communities safer for everyone by automatically filtering out NSFW content” and that X will require users to have specified their age in order to search these NSFW communities. However, this entire thing feels like a powder keg with a very short fuse. We’ll have to wait and see what happens once the filter is activated.