X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, is testing a feature that lets users create or join communities that focus on “adult content” or other “not safe for work” material.
Users who create a community within the app can specify in the settings that their group “contains adult-sensitive content,” according to screenshots discovered by Daniel Buchuk, an analyst at Watchful, which tracks app development testing. The X groups will then be labeled ‘adult content’. Users who don’t label their community may see some content filtered out or removed, according to the rules screenshots.
Communities on X’s policy currently restricts “graphic media, adult nudity, and sexual conduct for viewers under the age of 18 or viewers who do not include a date of birth on their profile.” A senior software engineer at X, Dong Wook Chung, Posted On Thursday, he said the goal of the new label is “to make communities safer for everyone” and that “only users who have provided their age will be able to search communities with NSFW content.”
A spokesperson for X confirmed that Chung is an employee but declined to comment further.
U.S. lawmakers have made protecting teens and other young people online a major focus in recent months, including during a controversial Senate hearing in January that included the CEOs of several social networks, including X’s Linda Yaccarino.
Openly offering “NSFW” groups could be another way for X to differentiate itself from other mainstream social networking services. Adult material existed on Twitter long before owner Elon Musk took over and changed the company name, and Twitter’s former executives even considered creating an OnlyFans-style subscription offering for adult content creators. Twitter scrapped the project after deciding the company was unwilling to police “harmful sexual content,” including child pornography, according to The Verge.
Musk has been open about his belief that X should include almost all content that is not illegal. X allows posts about topics like sexual behavior if users mark it as sensitive, but it is policy prohibits adult content in live videos and profile images. It is also against the rules to promote these topics as part of an advertisement.
It’s not clear when the test will go live to a wider audience, and it’s possible the feature could still be scrapped.