X Introduces Audio and Video Call Feature — And It Can Be Used to Track Your Location

X has rolled out an audio and video call feature and now people are rushing to disable the new tech. 

This new feature is activated by default, thus unless it’s disabled, anyone a user follows can call them without prior consent. The default settings also allow callers to see a user’s IP address and thus be able to approximate their location. 

Not surprisingly, the feature has sparked a mixed reaction among users, raising concerns over privacy and the potential for unwanted calls. And given X’s history of challenges with bot accounts, the apprehension about this feature’s misuse is understandable.

Users have made sure to warn about these dangers in the announcement post using X’s context feature. 

Users can tinker with the feature’s settings through the smartphone app. There, they can select who can call them, i.e. people in your address book (which reminds you that X may already have access to your contacts), people you follow (this is the default), verified users (meaning anyone who’s paying the $8 subscription), and everyone.

If a user chooses to enable this call feature, it’s best to make sure to select the “Enhanced call privacy,” which would stop X from revealing the IP address during calls.

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