NSFW Setting for Communities on X Seen as Protective Measure

X, formerly known as Twitter, has rolled out a new setting for communities as part of series of new updates with the latest version of its app.

These updates include the ability for admins to select “adult content” in the settings to specify that those communities or groups contain NSFW (not safe for work) images, videos, or materials.

X is putting this filter in place as more platforms with adult content face external legislative pressures to restrict access to that content to verified adult users.

Selecting the adult content designation could prevent those groups from being automatically filtered, according to the social media site.

X estimates that there are over 350,000 communities on its platform with 650,000 community posts daily.

X engineer Dong Wook posted about these latest updates on his profile, saying, “Hello, friends! Check out the latest updates and improvements for X communities. Admins can now add topics to their communities, and you can see topics linked to communities on all devices.

Wook continues, “Soon, NSFW content will be auto-filtered in all communities. Admins can now set 'adult content' in settings to avoid auto-filtering of the content.”

As of press time, Wook’s pinned post had been viewed more than 12.7 million times.

In a later post, Wook added that only users whose age is included in their profile will have access NSFW content.

“To be clear, this setting is about making communities safer for everyone by automatically filtering out NSFW content. Only users who have specified their age will be able to search communities with NSFW content.” -Dong Wook

The adult content filter isn’t the only update Wook specified. He also outlined the following changes in his post:

• Ban button along with keep and hide buttons on the reported posts page.
• All community posts are now shown in global search and profile likes tab.
• You will see more detailed messages if you are not eligible to join a community.
• Users who are kicked out too many times due to spam content across all communities will be temporarily or permanently banned from joining more communities.

The availability of adult content on X is no secret. In a January 2024 update, X provided an overview of its policy on sensitive material, including sexual content, stating, “You may post content that falls under our definitions of graphic content, adult nudity, and sexual behavior with a content warning, but you may not share this media in a live video, or in your profile picture or header, list banner, or community cover photo.”

Adult nudity and sexual behavior is defined as “any consensually produced and distributed media that is pornographic or intended to cause sexual arousal.”

This includes depictions of full or partial nudity, sexual intercourse or other sexual acts, and close-ups of genitals, butts, or breasts.

The new adult content option in settings for communities and groups may have come as a surprise to some.

However, according to Bloomberg, this new adult content feature is something X is testing, allowing users to create or join communities focused on adult content. Bloomberg says it’s still possible that the new feature could be eliminated altogether.