Vitalik Buterin speaks about the danger of the X platform for crypto users

Ethereum co-founder Бутерін" href="https://noworries.news/biography/vitalij-buterin/" data-bio-id="3642">Vitalik Buterin has criticized the new feature of the X platform that automatically shows the user’s country, calling it «risky.» He agreed with the concerns of the crypto community, which believes that the innovation poses serious privacy risks. The feature was introduced by Nikita Bir, X’s product director, noting that its goal is to increase the transparency and veracity of information on the platform.

Buterin initially admitted that the idea could have a positive effect, as it allows us to understand the positions of people from different regions. However, he later stated that forcing the disclosure of a country without the consent of users is «wrong.» According to him, even a minor disclosure of data can be dangerous for some users, and forcing them to change their settings without the ability to opt out is a violation of their right to privacy.

Other representatives of the crypto industry have also been critical of the feature. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams called the forced country disclosure «psychotic,» noting that any form of «doxxing» should only be done with the user’s consent. Andriy David, CTO of the DeFi platform Summer. fi, emphasized that the main problem is not the display of the country, but its forced display without warning. He stated that «any privacy-related function should be launched from the least open setting.»

Some X users explained how to hide this information. A representative of the Web3 community Hunters of Web3 under the pseudonym Langerius said that the function can be disabled through the settings menu: in the «privacy and security» section, you should disable the display of the country or replace it with a region or continent.

Despite the criticism, some users took the innovation in stride. They noted that in countries with large populations, such as the United States, such information is unlikely to make someone easily identifiable. Others, such as venture capitalist Nick Carter, supported the feature, believing that it would help prevent manipulation, where foreign users pose as locals to influence political discussions.