X Previews Long-Awaited “Shadowban” Alerts

X, formerly Twitter, is moving a stage closer to adding a long-promised feature that notifies users when their account becomes “shadowbanned.” Andrea Conway, one of the developers at X, previewed the upcoming feature first promised by controversial CEO Elon Musk last year.

“We may cover your posts with a warning so people who don’t want to see sensitive content can avoid it. The reach of your account and its content may also be restricted, such as being excluded from the For You and Following timelines, recommended notifications, trends, and search results,” said Conway.

Conway displayed two mock-ups of the update: a notifications tab alert plus an informational page explaining why X may limit the visibility of certain accounts. “We have found that your account potentially contains sensitive media — such as graphic, violent, nudity, sexual behavior, hateful symbols, or other sensitive content,” it explains.

Underneath the message sits an appeal button, which users can click to request X review its initial decision. Conway also explained that users would be able to view their account status outside of the notifications tab but didn’t mention how that might work.

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The feature tackles what has long been a controversial issue for Twitter (now X). For years, the company has limited the reach of accounts breaking its rules, sometimes without the account holders themselves being aware of the throttling.

The forthcoming update should add transparency to X’s decisions but is likely to also create further controversies and even conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, Conway said the company “should have more to share on this soon”.